Unfaithful Savior original
by warriorfreak
Summary: A disease has swept through the Clans, killing out all the males, leaving only the females. Panic strikes until a single tom, Faithpaw, is born. He will save the species. Everyone wants to be the first one he mates with. And he doesn't even want to love.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: When a disease spreads through the entire area of the Clans, it kills every male cat there is, leaving only the females. They realize soon that they are doomed, without anyone to mate with to keep their species going. Only three cats are pregnant. The first has kits that are all stillborn, the second has kits that are all females, but the last has one kit. He's a male. A scrawny, ugly male with over sized paws and a kinked tail who's named Faithpaw. And everybody is desperate for his survival. As Faithpaw grows up, a lot of she-cats are hanging around him, trying to be the one he chooses as his first mate. But he doesn't even want a mate. And that's all anybody ever considers him. Someone to mate with to bring the species back to fullness. Can the one tom save the species without having to mate nonstop?**

**Disclaimer- I don't own warriors, but I own these characters and Clan names. And I own the plot and almost everything.**

**MidnightClan is ShadowClan, FireClan is ThunderClan, WindClan is AirClan and WaterClan is RiverClan.**

Prologue

MidnightClan

**Leader**-_ Brightstar_- bright she-cat

**Deputy**- _Whitefoot_- white she-cat

**Medicine cat**-_ Specklepelt_- Speckled tabby she-cat

**Warriors-** _Northwing_- brown she-cat

_Brownclaw_- dark brown she-cat

_Windfrost_- pale yellow she-cat

_Moonfeather_- silver and black she-cat

**Apprentices**_- Sunpaw-_ ginger she-cat

_Duskpaw_- dusky brown she-cat, Sunpaw's sister

_Silverpaw_- silvery she-cat

_Earthpaw-_dark brown striped she-cat

_Faithpaw_- patchy brown and white tom

**Queens**-_ Frostclaw_- white she-cat

_Auburnwhisker-_ auburn she-cat

_Chrysanthemumflower-_ colorful she-cat

**Elders**- _Threewhisker-_ old she-cat

WaterClan

**Leader**- _Inkstar-_ inky black she-cat

**Deputy-** _Fearfeather-_ young tabby she-cat

**Medicine cat-** _Thornfur-_ tan she-cat

**Warriors-** _Dogwing-_ playful she-cat

_Blackfur_- black she-cat

_Pinestripe-_ brown tabby she-cat

_Sandclaw-_ sandy brown she-cat

**Apprentices**-_ Howlpaw_- noisy grey she-cat

_Bluepaw-_ blue-grey she-cat

_Brownpaw-_ brown tabby she-cat

_Clockpaw_- grey and brown tabby

**Queens-** none

**Elders-** _Cone-eye-_ ugly, clumpy furred she-cat

AirClan

**Leader-**_ Longstar_- wiry she-cat

**Deputy-** _Greenflower-_ grey she-cat

**Medicine cat**-_ Spotdot_- ever nervous she-cat

**Warriors**- _Whitestripe_- White she-cat

_Silvertail_- silvery grey she-cat

_Paperfur-_ pure white she-cat

**Apprentices**- _Shiftpaw-_ shaky young she-cat

_Sandpaw-_ sandy yellow she-cat

**Queens-** none

**Elders**- none

FireClan

**Leader-** _Birchstar-_ pale brown she-cat

**Deputy-** _Greypelt-_ grey pelted she-cat

**Medicine cat-** _Sandyfur-_ sandy brown she-cat

**Warriors-** _Standfur-_ stable grey she-cat

_Dogear-_ Grey she-cat with a wobbly ear

_Moontalon_- Silver she-cat with yellow paws

_Sunwhisker-_ Yellow she-cat, Moontalon's sister

**Apprentices-** _Grewpaw_- gangly grey she-cat

**Queens-** _Silverfeather-_ silvery she-cat

**Elders-** _Pathpelt-_ stripy she-cat

_...unfaithful…._

A young tabby she-cat padded into the moonlit camp, her heart churning with grief. She looked at her paws as they led her to the nursery. Gently she poked her head in, her heart hammering, knowing how hard this would be.

"Frostclaw?" She whispered.

The white she-cat jumped restfully to her feet. "Yes, Brownclaw?"

"Darkfur had the disease, Frostclaw," Brownclaw said sadly, "he was found dead."

"NO!" Frostclaw jumped to her feet, eyes shining for her lost mate.

"There is only one left," Brownclaw said, "We must hope that Greenlight will survive."

A yowl echoed through camp, and Brownclaw dashed out again. Someone was dragging Greenlight into camp. She screamed, then stopped, suddenly realizing that the age of the Clans could not go on.

"There are no more toms," Whispered Frostclaw beside her, "Our species shall trickle away, but if a tom does come along, he's going to be hitched fast."

…_.unfaithful…._

The sun was a few hours from rising as Brownclaw padded into the medicine den. Her head was swimming with doom and her whole body ached with fear. Her life was fine, the unknown, incurable disease didn't affect females. But she feared for all four Clans, knowing they would soon die off, with no more males to mate with.

"Specklepelt?" She called. He elderly medicine cat padded over. "Yes, Brownclaw?"

"Have you had a prophecy to help us from this dark age?"  "No." Specklepelt shook her head sadly. "StarClan is silent."

In dreadful silence, Brownclaw padded limply from the den. She lay down in the almost empty den, longing for the scent of her mate. He was gone though, with the warrior ancestors. She wished there were some other males in here. It made her sad.

Slowly she drifted into sleep. She had a vivid dream; cats were running around in terror and dead bodies fell to the ground.

A raspy voice rung through the devastated camp.

"The Clans shall split

Leaving only the she-cats

Doom will come

Until the hope blossoms

But does not save."

The prophecy was gone. Brownclaw shot to her paws, wide awake. A yowl sounded form the nursery, and she paced over.

The entire Clan had gathered inside the nursery, around the one queen, Chrysanthemumflower. She was stretched out. Silence fell and a tiny kit slid out.

Brownclaw looked down, hope in her chest. Was it male? She desperately hoped so.

"It's a female," Said Moonfeather as she watched.

The cats were silent.

The next one came.

"It's also a female," Said Moonfeather again.

The last one came.

"Female."  A groan sounded.

The next day Frostclaw was also having birth. Once again the cats gathered around with excitement, hoping for a male.

The first one came.

"Female," said one cat, then added, "But she's stillborn."

Frostclaw gave a wail. Her next kit came.

"Male!" the cat said happily. The Clan began pressing foreword with eagerness.

"But…he's stillborn."

The Clan began to wail, and they broke away in fear.

The next day the third and last queen, Auburnwhisker had her kits. Again the Clan pressed foreword, surrounding her excitedly.

She lay wailing for over an hour. Finally though, she fell silent. Out came the kit. It was tiny, premature. Moonfeather sniffed it. It was limp, with clumsy paws and a long tail that had an obvious 90 degree kink in it. It was scrawny too, short brown and white fur concealing a bony and ugly body.

Moonfeather turned it over. "Male," She said, "Alive."

The cats gave a whisper, but there wasn't much excitement as they saw the hideously ugly tom.

"His name's Faithkit," Auburnwhisker said, "He better save our species."


	2. Chapter 2

**This is rated T for a reason fellas. There might be some like rape in here or something.**

**Also, thanks to all who reviewed! Wow, five reviews already! You guys rock!**

Chapter 2

Faithkit lay inside the nursery, paws in front of him. His kinked tail stuck out behind him like a misshapen paintbrush. As he lay there, letting the pale, leaf-bare sun warm his back, he watched the she-cats pad around camp, working hard, their paws busy.

A group of apprentices passed by him. "Hi, Faithkit," they all said together. He stared up at them with large, bulbous black eyes that unequally suited his face.

His mother, Auburnwhisker came and sat down beside him. "Enjoying the little bit of sun, Faithkit?" She asked him, wrapping her auburn tail around his bony body.

"It's nice," He said in a high, squawky voice.

"It's a nice life, too," She said, "But there are problems with it."

"What problems?" He asked innocently.

"Just weeks before you were born, all the male cats in possibly the world were killed by an incurable disease."

Faithkit felt a rush of fear. "Do I have the disease, mother?" He asked worriedly, small brow creasing.

Auburnwhisker laughed lightly. "Of course not, Faithkit. We think the disease is gone. It probably killed itself out, killing so many cats it killed them too soon for the disease to truly grow. That's not the worry, though. The worry is that there are no toms to mate with."

"That is a worry," Faithkit said. He felt Auburnwhisker freeze beside him, as if he had missed something in the conversation.

"Except one," Auburnwhisker said, "There is one tom only. You."

"Now that is a good thing," Faithkit said.

"Uh...well, yes! Yes of course! It will be your duty to bring the species back by mating with as many she-cats as possible."

"Why would I want to mate with she-cats?" He asked, as if it were something as simple as tomorrow's weather.

"Unfortunately, wanting doesn't come into it, dear Faithkit," Auburnwhisker said. "You have too, or we will all die out."

"That doesn't seem fair!" Faithkit got angrily to his feet and stomped away, deeper into the nursery. Auburnwhisker smiled. He'd learn soon. And if not that, he'd want to start mating with all the she-cats.

_...unfaithful..._

"Today is a very special day," Brightstar said, seated atop the Highledge. "It is the day that the only tom in our Clan becomes an apprentice, a significant time because we have no other toms here. My decision is to let Faithkit be mentored by all the warriors in our Clan, so they can be like a collective mentor making sure that Faithkit survives. From now on, this special cat will be known as Faithpaw. We are to train him as many."

The Clans let out a cheer, and as he stepped down from the Highledge. Everyone stated pushing in around him, and Faithpaw felt suddenly overwhelmed by all the she-cat energy. He tried to pull away, but he was blocked for the most part. Finally he ducked down and dashed away.

Duskpaw and Sunpaw, the two sisters joined him as he made his way over to the fresh-kill pile.

"So, Faithpaw," Sunpaw asked, grabbing a rabbit from the pile and jerking it around. "What do you think of being an apprentice?" "It's ok, I guess," He said, then added, "But I've only been an apprentice for three minutes now."

"That's true," Sunpaw said, "Here, come and join us in eating!"

"Um...alright." He quickly chose a couple of mice and ducked after the two she-cats.

"Sit between us!" They half-commanded, scooting over to give him room. He plopped down. A little later they were joined by Silverpaw.

"Go away!" Duskpaw snarled at her, "You aren't welcome in this meal."

"Who said I wasn't?" Silverpaw hissed. She turned to Faithpaw, batting her eyes and smiling. "You want me here, don't you Faithpaw?"

He could feel the she-cat energy pressing in again, so he stood up and just walked away, abandoning his mice. He heard some disappointed hisses from behind him.

The apprentices den was cool and nearly empty, a refreshing relief from the she-cats. Faithpaw was tired enough to sleep, so he lay down and soon the icy warmth gripped his, carrying him away to silence.

_...unfaithful..._

Faithpaw was awakened just the slightest amount by someone whispering. He angled his ears in the direction that the speakers were, trying to catch what they were saying.

"I'm sorry but he can't mate with you Duskpaw, because if mated with both me and you our kits couldn't breed cause it'd be inbreeding! I mean because were sisters!" Faithpaw could recognize Sunpaw's voice.

"Out kits don't have to mate together," Duskpaw snarled, "Plus it'd be in inbreeding anyway because they'd have the same father--Faithpaw."

"The father doesn't matter," Sunpaw hissed, "Remember? Our parents had the same dad but we're fine! But we can't both mate because then our kits would be related to much! So I'm sorry but Faithpaw can only mate with me and not you."

"Well why can't he just mate with me and not YOU?" Duskpaw snarled back. "What makes you so special?"

"He likes me better and I'm prettier," Sunpaw hissed to her sister.

"You are not prettier!"

A new voice joined the argument; Faithpaw could smell Silverpaw.

"You guys actually think he'll mate with you freaks? I'm the pretty one he likes and he will mate with me! In fact, he'll probably give me like seven litters because he likes me so much! So shut up!"

"You are fighting way to much," Said someone else. It was Earthpaw. "I'm that calm one who doesn't always pester him. Faithpaw will be my mate."

At that moment, Faithpaw saw some of the other warriors getting up. His pelt was already burning with anger at the she-cats talk, the way they were treating him like an object, a piece of prey to fight over. He stood up, ignoring the shocked silences from behind him, and left the den.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The camp was flooded with sunlight; Faithpaw looked up he saw that the sky was a crystal blue, the only clouds were wispy cirrus ones that floated gently at the horizon lines. There was no breeze, and the birds sung happily. It was paradise.

At that moment two cats padded over, Northwing and Windfrost, two of the warriors.

"Hey, Faithpaw," Windfrost said, "We'll be your mentors for today. Come on! Let's see what we can get done while the day is still on us."

As they left camp, Northwing took the conversation. "We decided not to show you around the territory incase some of the disease still lurks. We can't have you being killed." She smiled emptily.

The training hollow was a cool area with a sandy, smooth ground. Faithpaw worked his paws into the soft grains.

"We're mainly here to talk about Clan duties. It's a very important thing in the Clan." Windfrost said.

"You're Clan duty is to mate," Northwing continued. "Because you are the only male, in order to make it so the Clan doesn't die out, you will have to mate with every she-cat in all the Clans when they are in heat."

"I don't want to do that. I won't take a mate," Faithpaw said as if it were obvious. And to him, it was.

"If you don't, we'll all die out," Northwing said. "You wouldn't want that, would you now, Faithpaw?"

"I wouldn't care," he said truthfully, "Because it wouldn't affect MY death in any way."

Windfrost smiled serenely. "Don't worry, Faithpaw. Someday you'll understand. Maybe you need to get a bit bigger. Why don't we go back to camp? It's been a good, long day."

"But—," Faithpaw was confused, and looked between his two mentors. "But what about training? I mean, learning anything? Aren't you going to teach me to hunt…or fight?"

Northwing smiled. "Dear Faithpaw, you won't have to worry about learning all those difficult, hard things the rest of the apprentices have to learn. You're special. Come on now, you must be tired after such a hard worked day."

"I-," Even though he was confused, Faithpaw followed Northwing and Windfrost out of the cool, nice clearing and back to camp. He was genuinely surprised, because it had sounded like he wasn't going to get trained like a real warrior. He shrugged. His bad ears deceived him too much.

As soon as he placed one paw inside camp, Silverpaw hurled herself into him, knocking him over, where he lay dazed on the ground. She jumped on him and looked down into his black eyes.

"Hello, Faithpaw!" She said, smiling. "How was your first day of training."

He was cross because of her frightful appearance, and he got to his feet, flicking her off him. "I'm tired," He said grumpily, "Leave me alone."

He could tell she was upset, but he decided not to apologize. He padded over to the den and lay down. He was surprised when he realized that his body and his mind both weren't tired, and glancing up through the ferns, he saw that it was barely sun high. He sighed as he realized his training had barely lasted half an hour. He emerged from the den again, blinking in the sunlight.

"Brightstar?" he called to her, padding across the camp as he saw her, heading into her den.

"Yes?" She asked, turning. "Oh, dear Faithpaw!_ Dear_ Faithpaw! What is it that troubles you?"

Faithpaw blinked for a moment, moderately surprised. "I was wondering what to do for the next long while. Northwing and Windfrost already finished my training."

"Dear Faithpaw!" Brightstar said gushily, laying her tail tip on his shoulder. "Dear tom! Well, I think you should go do whatever you like, dear cat. Never worry! Do what you like whenever you like!"

"Yes, thank you." Faithpaw said, quickly turning and padding away. From behind him he heard an unhappy sigh that was filled with want. He flicked his ears, acting like he hadn't heard it. Then he sat down, thinking about what to do. Instantly he thought of roaming the territory, to find out things about the forest. And, because his mentors refused to show him it, he decided he could just teach himself.

The forest was cool, the leaves springy and moist under paw. Everything was alive with birdsong and the chirping of bugs in the grass. Faithpaw was surprised at how very there everything was.

He moved quickly through the trees, wanting to inspect the other borders. The nearest was WaterClan, so he turned in the direction of their territory. He stopped when he smelled their border.

He looked over into WaterClan territory. It was noticeably wetter then MidnightClan's territory, with streams running by, accompanied by sprigs of lush, green moss.

He was just moving along the border when he heard a shout. He was surprised; he wasn't expecting to see other cats so soon.

Faithpaw turned and stopped as the she- cats worked their way up to him. Soon they stopped.

"Hi," said one breathlessly, "who are you?"

"I'm Faithpaw,' he said calmly, backing up from the noisy she-cat.

"I'm Dogwind," she said loudly, "This is Pinestripe, Bluepaw and Clockpaw."

Pinestripe was a brown tabby, Bluepaw was silver-blue, and Clockpaw was grey and brown.

"You're a male," Pinestripe said in a voice much slighter then Dogwind's. "How come you aren't…dead?" "Because I was born after the disease came and went," Faithpaw explained.

"You must be the only one," Pinestripe said, "We don't have any toms in our Clan, and according to them, neither do FireClan. To bad, though, isn't it? We need a tom to mate with. You must be the lucky one."

"I'm not taking mates," Faithpaw said quietly, not wanting it to be the topic of discussion.

"Oh," Pinestripe said. "So why are you here?"

"Exploring," he said casually, "Looking around."

A new voice came in, Faithpaw turned and saw it was Clockpaw speaking.

"Are you sure you're a tom?" She asked, looking at him steadily.

Faithpaw stared at her, insulted and confused. "Of course I am!" he said, "Why wouldn't I be?

She shrugged, looking at her paws. "Just…a thought."

Faithpaw turned away from her, back to the warriors.

"We better be going," Pinestripe said, "Bye Faithpaw." They started off. "Come on, Dogwind."

"Just a moment," Dogwind told them, waving her paw. As soon as they disappeared, she turned to Faithpaw, and now her voice was lowered.

"How would you like to take me as a mate?" Dogwind asked.

Faithpaw stared at her furiously. "I'm so, so sorry, Dogwind," he snarled at her, not sorry at all. "But as I already said, I'm not taking mates."

He turned and ran off before she could reply, still angry. He didn't like this. He wasn't taking a mate. Nobody could understand that.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was finally dark when Faithpaw entered the camp. Instantly, Earthpaw ran up to him, trying to outpace Duskpaw and Sunpaw.

"Hey Faithpaw there's a gathering tomorrow," She said as fast as she could while Duskpaw and Sunpaw slouched around him. "Would you like to see if you could go to it with me?"

"Well, I'd like to see if I could go to it," He replied, "But not with you." He turned and started walking to the leader's den. Now Duskpaw padded at his side.

"Faithpaw, I feel your pain on Earthpaw. She's crazily annoying. I can help you get rid of her. Want me too?"

"Sure," He said, "And in the meantime, help me get rid of you too." She stayed behind, obviously hurt, as he hurried up to Brightstar's den.

"Brightstar?" He called softly, not wanting to startle her.

She scrambled to her feet. "Dear Faithpaw! Do come in."

He padded into the den.

"Yes, dear cat?" She asked.

"I was wondering if I could go to the gathering tomorrow."

"Yes of course you can! Dear cat, why not? You of course would go! Yes!"

"Thank you," He left the den before she could go on.

It was sunset, and a few golden stars glimmered in the darkening sky. Faithpaw grabbed a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and began to munch hungrily.

"Hi, Faithpaw." Said a calm voice.

Faithpaw looked up. It was Silverpaw.

Without asking, she sat down next to him. "What have you been doing lately?" She asked kindly.

"I went to the border. I met some cats." He said curtly, scooting over and away from her.

She fell silent. "I bet they were mean."  
"They were fine." He said.

"You should hang out with me. I'm nice."

"Maybe." He said. He finished his mouse quickly, stood up and walked into the apprentices den.

Thankfully, it was empty, so Faithpaw could go to sleep peacefully without having to push away any of the she-cats.

XXX

"Hey Faithpaw! Wake up! I'll be your mentor for today."

Faithpaw slowly opened his eyes and peered up, seeing Brownclaw, a brown she-cat, above him.

"We'll be going to the training hollow again," Brownclaw said as he got out of the den and stretched. Then she moved into the forest, him after her.

They reached the training hollow instantly. Brownclaw sat down and motioned for him to do that too with a wave of her tail.

"Today we will talk about feelings for different she-cats." She said.

"What about like…learning how to hunt and fight?" He asked her.

"Remember, Faithpaw, you're special," She said, leaning foreword, "You don't have to do the things other apprentices do. Anyway, back to the subject. Before you were born, I had a mate. I never had kits, but I did have a mate. He died in the disease of course. I want to know if you are interested in any of the she-cats yet. They can be in this Clan or not, it doesn't matter to you because you're the only male."

"I don't like any she-cats," he said. "Everyone hits on me and that's annoying."

"That makes sense." Brownclaw nodded in an over- understanding way.

"I like to recommend Earthpaw," Brownclaw said, "She's very nice."

"I don't like her," Faithpaw said.

"Now, that is too bad," Brownclaw said. "We'll, since you don't like anybody, there's nothing much else to talk about. We're basically done. Come on, let's go back to camp."

Sighing, Faithpaw followed her. Once again, it was only sunhigh, and hours until the gathering.

This time, the brown and white tom took the time in camp, out in the middle of the clearing, dozing in the baking sun. Finally, though, Sunpaw prodded him awake.

"Time to go to the gathering!" She said, grinning. He scrambled to his feet. The Clan was gathering under the Highledge.

"These are the cats going to the gathering," Brightstar called from above, "Me of course, Whitefoot, Moonfeather, Northwing, Brownclaw, Silverpaw, Sunpaw, Earthpaw, Auburnwhisker, Chrysanthemumflower and of course Faithpaw. We are leaving now." She jumped down to the front of camp, and the cats gathered behind her.

"Alright, let's go." Brightstar called and the Clan raced out of camp.

Sunpaw fell in beside Faithpaw. "How are you Faithpaw?" She asked.

"Go away," He hissed, speeding ahead.

They sped out of MidnightClan territory and along the banks of the lake, on the edge of AirClan, then WaterClan. Finally they slowed at the tree bridge.

"Want to cross with me?" Silverpaw asked Faithpaw, "It can be kind of hard."

"I think I can manage," He hissed. As soon as Moonfeather jumped onto the tree, he followed. It bounced, but he padded slowly and steadily over it.

He scrambled through the bushes and emerged on a large island that thronged with she-cats. Pine trees grew all over it, but moonlight still could spill in, lighting up the lake surrounding the island and the tiny shells that mixed with the sand.

"Here, Faithpaw," Earthpaw said, tugging at his shoulder, "Let me show you to some of the other Clan's apprentices. Look! It's AirClan! It smells like they're with WaterClan…I guess FireClan isn't here yet. Come on!"  
He unwillingly followed her into the throng of she-cats. A group of younger cat sat near by, chatting.

"Hi guys," Earthpaw said.

"Hi Earthpaw!" One yelled. Others chorused her.

"That's Howlpaw, The brown one is Brownpaw, that's Swiftpaw and the silver grey one is her sister Siftpaw."

"Who's your friend, Earthpaw?" Brownpaw asked.

Howlpaw cracked up in laughter. It sounded like hooting.

"His name is Faithpaw," Earthpaw said.

"You're a tom," Siftpaw said to him. Faithpaw looked over.

"Do you have something wrong with that?" He growled.

"No," She said, and her voice was surprisingly calm and dreamy, a slight smile on her face. "I just thought they were all dead."

"Well, I was born after the disease," He said, glancing uneasily at Siftpaw. He didn't like some of the cats here.

Faithpaw sat down between Earthpaw and Siftpaw.

Howlpaw gave a wild hoot of laughter. "Who's gonna be your first mate, Faithpaw?" She asked, "You have so many cats to choose from!"

"I'm not taking a mate," He growled. Everyone kind of fell silent.

As chat started up again, Siftpaw turned to Faithpaw. "Do you get annoyed with the she-cats?" She asked in a strangely spooking, dreamy voice.

"Yes," he said, "because they always hit on me."

"That'd be annoying," Siftpaw said. "Do you wish you could have any tom friends to talk to?"

"All the time," He said, "It's too bad they're aren't any."

"All the she-cats in my Clan are talking about what kind of mate they would want, if a tom ever comes around," Siftpaw mewed, "Unfortunately, they really don't get any choice."

"And they also aren't even going to get a mate, because I'm not taking one," Faithpaw said curtly.

"I wouldn't either, if I were you," Siftpaw said. "I really don't want a mate. The idea just seems sort of…gross. And usually cats don't talk to obsessively about a mate, and make plans for them, because usually there's an abundance of toms, and they don't have to worry about finding one."

"I know," Faithpaw said, "I wish it could be that way now."

Before Siftpaw could answer, a yowl sounded from the leaders perched on the great pine.

"FireClan arrived," Siftpaw said. "I must have missed them."

Earthpaw was tugging at Faithpaw's shoulder. "Here, sit nearer to me. You can't trust other cats." She looked over Faithpaw and gave Siftpaw a glare. But Siftpaw was staring straight ahead, smiling dreamily.

Earthpaw was tugging at Faithpaw again, trying to get his attention. Faithpaw refused to look at her. Across the clearing, Duskpaw and Sunpaw were huddled together, glaring with fury at Earthpaw.

"Faithpaw! Pay attention to me!" Earthpaw hissed. Unwillingly, Faithpaw looked over at her.

"That cat is Inkstar, she's the leader of WaterClan…and that wiry brown she-cat is Longstar, of AirClan...You know Brightstar…then there's Birchstar…of FireClan…you know the stuff. Down there are the deputies. Greenflower of AirClan and Graypelt of FireClan. Fearfeather- WaterClan of course-,"

"Will you shut up? I'm trying to here the leaders talk!" Faithpaw snarled at her, pulling away. She flicked her tail, hurt again, and stared straight ahead.

Longstar stood up. She was flicking her ears as she mewed. "All of our pregnant queens have kitted but there were no toms. We also found some of the tom-killing disease in a hollow oak, and even though there are no tom, we still smothered the opening into the hollow part of the tree with spiderwebs, so nothing can get into it and bring the disease back out."

Brightstar jumped foreword now. "Longstar, I am glad to hear you are protecting the Clans from the disease. Thank you. But there is one male. His name is Faithpaw, he is in my Clan. Stand up, please, Faithpaw."

He got to his feet. Every she-cat in the clearing was staring at him, eyes boring into his pelt.

"If he dies, I'll kill you, Brightstar," Inkstar muttered. Brightstar flickered her ears. "He will be fine." She said, then pulled back.

Inkstar took her place. "We have no males in out Clan. But we are still thriving. There are many fish in the streams and rivers, so we are fine."

Birchstar moved up. "FireClan has no males. It looks like special little Faithpaw is the only one. What a lucky cat. All those mates to pick from."

Anger filled his vision. It pulsed through his pelt. Faithpaw stared at Birchstar, his heart hammering with fury. Red coated everything. Heat radiated from his body. They must learn, he thought, they must learn.

"Is that all there is to say?" Longstar asked.

"Wait a bit!" Brightstar mewed loudly, "I have more to say." She went on about prey and badgers found in the woods. It went on and on so Faithpaw stopped listening.

He blinked when we saw a small tabby padding slowly up to him. She stopped in front of him. "Hi, Faithpaw," She muttered.

Faithpaw blinked, trying to recognize her. Oh yes! She was the strange little apprentice from the WaterClan border patrol. Clockpaw was her name.

"What do you want?" He said curtly.

"I wanted to say hi," Clockpaw said, "And I wanted to know if you thought about it."

"About what?"

"About if you're really a tom or not."

Faithpaw stared at her. "What is the matter with you?" He asked, pulling away. "Why are you asking me stuff like this? Go away! Go away before you try to do something creepy to me."

"I won't do anything creepy to you," Clockpaw muttered under her breath as she stood and walked away, "Because I can't."

Faithpaw stared after her in shock. Fear and shock.

**Please review! Sorry for the lack of updates. The end of sixth grade is always chaotic. But now its summer, so I'll update a lot! **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Faithpaw was glad when Clockpaw had disappeared into the crowd. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned and saw that the leaders were jumping from the pine tree. They called to their Clans in unison.

But as Faithpaw started to move foreword, a silvery she-cat padded up to him.

She looked at him up through eyes, giving a serious, intense expression. "Hello there," She said sexily, in a voice full of 'oomph.' "You must be Faithpaw. What an interesting, nice name. I'm Silvertail."

She smelled of AirClan, and Faithpaw's fur went up. "Nice to meet you," He said, trying to slip away.

She was right behind. "Faithpaw, you are so handsome. Why don't you come back to the clearing with me? I've got something to show you."

"I'm not interested," He said nervously, trying to get away again.

This time Silvertail dove in front of him, blocking the way foreword. "Oh Faithpaw, you seem so lonely," She said in the same sexy, breathy voice. "But so am I."

He stared at her, into her bright yellow eyes. Then he began to back away. "Go away," He whispered.

She stared at him intensely, smirking. Faithpaw gasped inwardly as he saw the cats had already left the island and were disappearing! He was stuck here with the creepy Silvertail.

"Faithpaw…I can see your longing," She whispered, stepping closer. He moved back. She stepped closer. He stepped back. Closer. Back. Closer. Back. Closer. Back. Closer. Slam!

Faithpaw slammed right into the circle of bushes. He looked around. Silvertail was approaching. There were bushes all around him, making a circle. He was trapped. And he didn't know how to fight.

"Faithpaw," She said, voice even quieter as she moved closer, "I know what you want…I see the longing in your eyes…" She looked at him now as if they both shared something terrible, something sad and deep.

"I long for the same things." She shook her head slowly, sadly, fiddling with the shells on the sand. "Sit back, Faithpaw. Rest your worried soul."

Faithpaw's mind was calculating furiously. Maybe if I obey her I'll have more of a chance to get away, he thought. Yes, that'll probably work. He sat down slowly, carefully.

"I've never taken a mate before, Faithpaw," Silvertail mewed. "All the toms died out when I was an apprentice, before I got the chance."

He stared at her, eyes darting around, searching for a way out if she struck.

She looked up at him now. "Faithpaw, let's join together and fix our longings….lets fix them…together."

He glanced at her briefly. Maybe if I darted over her head I could roll out of the bushes….

"Faithpaw, have you ever seen a she-cat does when she wants a certain special tom?"

He glanced at her briefly again. "No." he said coldly, glad that it sounded nice and mean.

"Well now you can…" she whispered. And to his utter horror, she came foreword, leaning down, pressing herself to him.

Faithpaw screamed, nice and loud and shrill for a tom. He tried to fight, but she was holding him there, flipping herself onto his belly…

"NO!" With a mighty yell, Silvertail was flung from him. Faithpaw lay shuddering on his side, the rough ground against his flank. He watched as Silvertail was thrown into the air. She hurtled foreword and disappeared from view. A splash was heard moments later.

"You're strong," Faithpaw commented to Siftpaw.

She sat down, licking her paw. "I know," She said in the same dreamy voice, sounding surprisingly optimistic. "I have a good mentor."

"How'd-how'd you find me?" Faithpaw asked, out of breath from his fear.

"You scream really well." She was grinning as she looked up at him.

Faithpaw couldn't help but smile. "Thanks so much…I wasn't quite sure what she was doing. There was a lot of body all over and a lot of strength…"

"She was going to rape you," Siftpaw mewed. "Silvertail's addicted to toms, Faithpaw."

"She's in your Clan?" he guessed.

Siftpaw rolled her eyes. "Yeah."

"And I thought Clockpaw was creepy," Faithpaw muttered to himself.

Siftpaw heard. "You know Clockpaw?"

"Sorta," He mewed, waving it away with his paw.

"They say she got hit a bit hard when she was born. Mental, you know."

"I think she is mental," Faithpaw agreed, "She keeps asking me if I'm sure I'm a tom."

"They say she likes she-cats."

"You mean she's gay?"

"She could be," Siftpaw mewed, "Nobody likes her because of it. They're too freaked out. She's actually really nice." "Oh."

"Anyway, both of us should get back t our Clans, because everyone will freak out if your missing."

"Sadly."

They both started off, jumping onto the tree bridge in unison and padding across silently.

Siftpaw broke off after they passed WaterClan territory, departing for AirClan. She turned around and saw him, smiling slightly.

"I'll see you around, Faithpaw."

"Alright."

She padded up the slope, passed a huge, hollow oak and disappeared over the ridge.

Fiathpaw turned the other way and headed back to MidnightClan. His mind was spinning. Utterly spinning.

**Sorry I haven't replied to reviews! I'm getting a whole lot of them, so its kind of hard too, so I'll just thank you all now for reviewing. It warms my soul.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Faithpaw padded into the dark camp. He groaned as he saw that the horizon was pink, the sun just moments from rising.

Earthpaw, Silverpaw, Sunpaw and Duskpaw raced up to him.

"Faithpaw!" They all exclaimed at the same time. More babbling followed, things like 'we were so afraid something had happened!' and 'where were you? Are you alright?' Finally, he managed to push away from them and get to the den. Instantly, he was asleep.

…unfaithful…

"Wake up!"

Faithpaw's eyes fluttered open, and he saw a black face above him.

"Hello, I'm Moonfeather, as you probably already know. I'll be your mentor for today."

Faithpaw got to his feet, sighing. Oh, how he wished he could be trained in the real way.

As soon as they were out of the camp, Moonfeather turned to face him as they walked. "Under Brightstar's command, we aren't aloud to teach you real warrior training stuff, and instead have talks about your feelings to she-cats and to inspire you to mate. However, I think that that's really dumb, and if anyone needs good warrior training, you do. I'll train you the real way."

"What?" Faithpaw could hardly believe it. "You'll train me the real way? I mean thank you! Thanks so much!"

"It's nothing." They had arrived at the training hollow. Moonfeather stopped and turned to face him. "We'll start with fighting today. Attack me."

Faithpaw got to his paws, wondering what a good move would be. Deciding to dislodge her from the shoulders, he hurried foreword and jumped.

Moonfeather slipped aside. "I see you have a long way to go. Try jumping at me from a distance, and throwing your weight onto me."

Faithpaw nodded. He back up and tried again, leaping hard and far. His paws scathed her fur before she moved aside.

"Better. Now try slamming into my shoulders. But be ready to try a different move if I dart away."

"Alright." This time, Faithpaw lunged at her, trying to knock her down from the shoulders. She dodged down. He instantly brought his paws down and he barreled into her, throwing her over.

"You got it! But there's more to learn, because the circumstances are always different."

Moonfeather trained him way after sunhigh. Only when the sun was a little before setting did Moonfeather finally say that they had had enough.

Faithpaw was exhausted, and unused muscles whined in protest as he padded back to camp.

"Why don't you use this time to explore the territory?" Moonfeather asked him, "I'm sure you never got a tour."

"I didn't," Faithpaw said, and he started to leave the hollow. Suddenly something occurred to him, and he turned around. "Thanks."

"It was nothing. Apprentices are supposed to be trained to be warriors, aren't they?" Her whiskers twitched and she bounded away.

Faithpaw smiled as he left in his own direction. He was going to enjoy the days Moonfeather taught him. To bad she could only teach him like once a week.

He sat down, trying to think of a good place to go. The borders were always fun to patrol around, but he didn't want to bump into Clockpaw at the WaterClan border again. Instead he headed for AirClan instead, padding through the dark forest as quick as he could. Soon the trees thinned and became short pines. He emerged from them and stood beside a stream, the border between MidnightClan and AirClan.

He stared out, wanting someone to appear. And, if luck would have it, someone did. And not just anybody, but...Siftpaw.

She was chasing a rabbit that she pounced on and killed grotesquely on the dry grass. She washed her paws off in the river, then looked up and saw him sitting there.

"Hello, Faithpaw," She said in her dreamy voice, a slight smile on her face. She shook her silver-grey paws out and then padded foreword until she was right at the edge of the stream.

"Hello, Siftpaw," He mewed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Nothing much. I was aloud to patrol the territory. I was trained by Moonfeather today-you probably don't know her- but she's giving me real training while everyone else is just talking about she-cats, my feelings about them and whatever. Moonfeather's really helping, already. She taught me fighting."

"That's good." Siftpaw said.

There was a long, awkward silence then:

"We only saw each other yesterday," Siftpaw said.

"I know." Faithpaw shrugged. "It doesn't matter, though, does it?"

"Maybe," She mewed, "Maybe not."

At that moment, there was a scream from behind Faithpaw. He whirled around.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I'm not sure," She mewed. "Come, on let's find out." Carefully, she moved into MidnightClan territory and together they bounded through the trees. The screams continued, getting louder, coming from WaterClan.

They slowed down as they neared the WaterClan border. Faithpaw peered through the trees. A cat seemed to be writhing underneath something else he couldn't see.

"It's Clockpaw!" Siftpaw yowled, "We have to help her!"

**Please review! Thanks to all who did. Oh and to clear something up, on my reviews page it looks like I reviewed myself, but that was actually my brother, was read my story and was too stupid to log me out and review anonymously. Don't worry, that wasn't me because I think reviewing your own story is just pointless. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Omg! Sixty one reviews and only six chapters? You guys rock. Candy bars for everyone, plus Faithpaw plushies. **

Chapter 7

"I…" Faithpaw stared at Siftpaw, who was dancing on the tips of her feet, trying to see Clockpaw better. "I'm not sure I want to save her."

Siftpaw whirled. She shot through the air, knocking him over and holding him there with one paw. Teeth bared, she stuck her face right up to his and snarled, "You're going to help her NOW!"

"Y-yes…" Faithpaw knew he could never beat an apprentice who could fling she-cats into the air. Siftpaw got off, once more looking calm and relaxed. Faithpaw glanced at her uneasily._ Maybe I should be a little more careful with her,_ he thought.

Siftpaw gasped. "It's a bear! Come on, Faithpaw!" Without waiting for an answer, the silver and grey tabby she-cat sprang to her paws and dashed over the border. The AirClan apprentice skidded to a halt. Faithpaw hurried after her.

A huge black bear with a tan muzzle was bending over Clockpaw. She was screaming as he slashed at her face, trying to worm away. He didn't let her go.

Siftpaw leapt into the air. She sprung higher, higher, higher, then latched onto the bear's shoulders. He roared, lifting up into the air. He shook back and forth, but Siftpaw hung on hard to his matted fur.

Faithpaw stared up at her, unable to move. Clockpaw was struggling to her paws, dragging herself away from the scene. Siftpaw hung on. And blood was pouring from the bear's back, making his matted fur even more matted. Siftpaw's claws were rooted in, and her teeth had sunken into his shoulder.

"FAITHPAW! BEHIND YOU!"  
Clockpaw's warning yowl jolted him out of his trance. He glanced around and saw a bear nearly twice the size of the first one lumbering right at him.

Faithpaw didn't wait. He shot foreword, his hind legs propelling him across the ground. He took a flying leap and dashed behind a tree, and right onto Clockpaw.

She sprang away from him, looking revolted. "You better help Siftpaw," the grey and brown tabby meowed. "She's got two bears to herself."

Without another word, Clockpaw shot foreword. She too sprung into the air and latched onto the bigger bear. Her claws tore down his back, making long red tracks.

Faithpaw sprinted across the ground. He leaped up too. He rose higher, higher, higher, and then he lashed through the air and caught Siftpaw's bear between the eyes.

He roared. He twisted his head and groaned. Faithpaw slammed his claws into his face. He stared to shake back and forth.

"HANG ON FAITHPAW!" Siftpaw yowled. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she opened her mouth wide and closed it around the bear's neck.

Then she fell down….down….down….

And crunched into the ground, lying on her side, completely limp.

But the bear was falling too. He began to come down. Faithpaw leaped off of him before he hit the ground so he wasn't squashed.

"Siftpaw!" he yowled, fighting to get away from the falling body of the bear. "Siftpaw!"

He collapsed to the ground and dragged himself to her still form. There was a small trickle of blood coming from a sharp dent in her head.

Clockpaw dropped off of her bear, who lumbered off into the forest. She padded over.

"Siftpaw?"

Faithpaw glanced up at her, then carefully touched Siftpaw's face with his paw. It tingled.

She was still. Her blue eyes were glazed white.

"Siftpaw?" Clockpaw whispered softly again.

"Get away, you gay she-cat!" Faithpaw screamed at her. He was so upset, so angry, he had to yell at something.

Clockpaw's unblinking amber eyes met his black ones. "I'm not gay," she whispered. "I swear upon everything in the world that I'm not gay."

He stared at her. She stared at him. Then he looked back at Siftpaw, who was still motionless.

"Siftpaw…" he whispered.

And she opened her eyes. The foggy blankness cleared out of them. She blinked and looked up at him. "Faithpaw? Sorry, I must have spaced out for a moment there. Wow. Did we really kill that bear?"

"You killed it," Faithpaw said. "It wasn't me."

"Well," She said, her normal dreamy, strange tone returning, "You helped me. So you get some of the credit."

He looked into her dark blue eyes. "It wasn't for that."

She shrugged, looking away. "I really have to go back now. My Clan'll be missing me."

Clockpaw looked up at her. "Goodbye, Siftpaw. Bye, Faithpaw. Thanks for helping me." She raised her tail and sunk into the darkness of the trees, disappearing.

"She's not gay," Faithpaw said instantly.

"Of course not. It was just a rumor." Siftpaw said calmly, padding back in the direction of the border. "You thought it was true?"

"Yes. What else could she be?"

"Normal?"

"Well…she seems so strange."

"Do _I_ seem strange?"

Faithpaw looked at her, then thought about her dreamy, calm way of talking. She was as strange as Clockpaw, in her own way.

"I guess so." He muttered.

"And you seem strange to me. Come on, you should get back because I bet everybody in your Clan is hyperventilating."

"Because I'm gone? That's sick."

Siftpaw glanced at him, smirking, "You seem to have forgotten you're the only tom, Faithpaw."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

She moved foreword and gave his ear a lick. His head swam. "Bye, Faithpaw."

She was interrupted by a shout. Then some MidnightClan cats crashed into view.

"There you are! Faithpaw, we were worried crazy about you. And who's this—A she-cat from another CLAN?" It was Northwing speaking, and with her were Brownclaw and Whitefoot. Sunpaw also emerged from the underbrush, and she gave a smoldering look at Siftpaw, enough to make anyone cry.

"I think you've got plenty of mate choices in MidnightClan, Faithpaw," Whitefoot hissed. "Now come along. And get the heck out of our territory, you little witch!" She added the last comment to Siftpaw in a deadly snarl.

Faithpaw followed the patrol back to camp, his tail hanging low. Sunpaw gave him a loving look, but didn't fall in beside him. He was glad. He didn't have the energy to make her go away.

They were back at the camp in no time. Whitefoot led them in. She instantly went to Brightstar. They spoke in low voices, looking over at Faithpaw the whole time.

Finally, Brightstar leaped on top of the Highledge. She called out the summoning yowl, and the cats slowly began to gather. As soon as they were fully assembled, Brightstar began to speak.

"Faithpaw, I have just been told that you were found with a she-cat from another Clan, and she was licking you.

Gasps and moans of hurt echoed from the cats. Faithpaw bristled.

"Why are you choosing cats from other Clans? The no cross-clan mating rule applies to you too. What is it with MidnightClan? Are we not good enough for you?"  
Faithpaw stared up into Brighstar's eyes. He narrowed his own. They he snarled, "Yes."

A few of the she-cats broke down sobbing, and had to lean against their friends for comfort. Faithpaw spat at those cats.

Brightstar looked down at him, eyes glimmering. "I am sorry to hear that. But Faithpaw, we cannot have you going with out-of-Clan cats. We are lucky to have the only male in our Clan, and we will take advantage of it! Faithpaw, you are to stay in camp always, except for training."

He stared up at her, furious. This was crazy! Confined in camp so he could get to know his Clanmates and mate with them, not the cats of his choice? This was crazy. He braced his legs to keep the fury from spilling, then turned and stomped into the den.

A few seconds later Earthpaw arrived, and she sat across from him. He curled up, turning away. He felt her gaze on his pelt.

"Faithpaw," She whispered, "Can I talk to you a sec?"

He paused, then moved his head over so he could see her. "What?"  
"I just wanted to talk." She stepped a little bit closer.

"Did you like the cat you were with today."

"Course not. I don't like anybody."

"Oh really?" she said playfully, then hurried foreword and snuggled up to him. She dashed back before he cold shy away.

"Faithpaw…" Earthpaw muttered. She came up to him again and lay her head on his shoulder.

"I love you."

He shot to his feet. She backed away.

He leaped at her like Siftpaw had, pinning her down, holding her there with a paw. His teeth bared.

"I HATE YOU!"  
Tears leaked from her eyes as he released her. She continued crying on through the night. Faithpaw couldn't get any sleep, and it was not because of Earthpaw's crying.

It was because he suddenly couldn't handle his own emotions.

**Review! Predictions, anyone? Thanks to all you loverly reviewers, and I'm sorry I can't reply to you all, it's kinda hard because I get like nine reviews for this story every time I check my inbox. Just know you are well thought of. :) Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone. Onto the next chapter!**

Chapter 8

"Good. Now, as soon as you are in striking distance, spring!"

Faithpaw's legs sprang into action and he pounced on the dry leaf.

Moonfeather smiled at him. "You're really understanding the hunting concept. Why don't you go hunt your own, real first prey now?"

It was a moon since the incident with Siftpaw, and Faithpaw was still confined in camp except for training. It was really a hardship, not being able to see the forest at all. He spent a lot of time sleeping, because on the days when Moonfeather didn't do his training and the others did, he usually finished before sun high and had hours of time to spend doing nothing.

"My first prey?" He said excitedly. He pranced from the training hollow, then stopped, sniffing the air. The scent of a wood mouse tingled his nose. He followed the scent, moving over a dry ridge and down into a mossy valley filled with the dry leaves.  
He froze, using his senses to locate the tiny creature. Soon he could hear its tiny heart beating somewhere to his left. He turned his head and saw a leaf moving. It was under there. Silently, he slipped into a crouch and slunk foreword. Remembering what Moonfeather had said, he waited until he was in striking distance. Then he leapt.

Steely muscles exploded into action and his hind legs kicked him from the ground. Paws outstretched, he grabbed the mouse, pinning it there. His teeth came down and made the lethal bite. Pride surged through him. He picked up the small grey body and padded back over the ridge, into the training hollow. He dropped his mouse in front of his mentor.

"Great!" She said, "You really did well on that mouse, I think you have the makings for a really excellent hunter."

"Thanks!" He meowed. Though he longed to bring his first catch back to camp, he knew it would give away Moonfeather's secret, different training.

"You should take it back to camp," he told her, dropping it by her paws. "So it'll look like you caught it."

She sighed. "I guess so. I'll go hunting too, and bring it back with the other stuff. It's getting late, why don't you head back to camp?"

"Alright," He said, dipping his head in thanks. He started off. He had been commanded to walk straight from camp to the training hollow whenever he did training, so as to never be out in the forest.

He reached the camp. The sun was setting, and Faithpaw's stomach gave a large growl. He hurried to the fresh-kill pile and took the freshest piece of meat on it; a squirrel. He crunched into it.

The other apprentices were arriving back from training. They headed over to Faithpaw, grabbing food and settling down with him. As he stood up and moved, Faithpaw saw that Earthpaw moved around him, setting down her catches and slipping into the den. He knew it was because he had rejected her love.

Faithpaw finished his squirrel and padded into the den. He avoided Earthpaw, who was curled up, already asleep. He shut up eyes, knowing he would fall asleep instantly, because he was happy. Happy that Moonfeather was teaching him the stuff he really needed to learn.

…_unfaithful…_

Faithpaw awoke early to the sound of Brightstar calling a Clan meeting. He slipped from the den, stretching his hind and front legs. Then he took his place beneath the Highledge.

"Today is another very special day," Brightstar began, and instantly Faithpaw sighed, knowing it was going to be about him.

"Today is special because our dear Faithpaw is coming of age. Right now, Faithpaw is able to mate with she-cats and make kits. Faithpaw, it is now your duty to mate with any she-cat that is in heat."

He looked up at her incredulously. _What? _Where did this come from? Faithpaw was the same as any day. But the cats were cheering and yelling as if it really was a special day.

"Also, tonight is a gathering," Brightstar went on, "Here are the cats going. Me, Whitefoot, Northwing, Windfrost, Brownclaw, Specklepelt, Sunpaw, Duskpaw and Silverpaw."

Faithpaw blinked. He hadn't been on the list of cats. A wave of anger washed over him as he realized it was because they didn't want him hanging out with she-cats from other Clans. He snarled. He had liked it better when they were treating him as the 'special, only tom.'

Brownclaw padded over to him then, picking him up for training. Wishing she were Moonfeather, Faithpaw trudged out of camp with her. They stopped at the hollow.

"It has been a while since I last asked this question," Brownclaw began. "I was wondering if there are any she-cats you have feelings for yet."

He looked at her. She looked at him.

"Are then any she-cats you like?"

He stared at her. She stared back. He began to think…think…think about…

Siftpaw.

"No." He said harshly. "There's nobody."

"Well, that sucks. Trainings over, then. Come on."

They had only been in the training hollow for three minutes.

…_.unfaithful…._

Faithpaw lay in front of the apprentice's den as the cats chosen for the gathering left camp. He growled a little, enviously, then rolled over. He could see Earthpaw in the den. She was watching him sadly, but looked away as soon as she saw him looking at her.

Moonfeather moved over to him then. She lowered her head, and he looked up at her.

"How about we sneak some training in?" She whispered.

He started to swish his tail in excitement. "Sure!"

Faithpaw got to his feet and followed her from camp, out into the forest. Soon they were at the training hollow.

"Let's see if you can get me pinned down," Moonfeather mewed. "Attack me!"

He crouched. Froze. Then leaped. Paws out, he aimed for her. But she jumped up, coming down and crushing him to the floor.

"Try again." She mewed.

He caught his breath then padded back to his place. He waited longer. Then he sprang foreword at top speed. She stood there, and jumped aside as soon as he came. He hit a tree.

"Be ready for everything," she mewed.

"Alright." He gritted his teeth, backed up, and tried again.

He sprang. She jumped sideways. He dropped from his jump and rolled along the ground, grabbing her with his claws as she tried to get away. He pinned her down and held her there.

"Great work!" She praised as they got up, shaking sand from their fur. "Now, I'm going to attack you, and your going to try to either throw me back, or jump away."

He prepared himself. He saw her spring. He shot into the air. But when he crashed down, she had already rolled away, making him hit empty ground.

"Watch me always," Moonfeather instructed. "Remember to never take your eye from the enemy."

"Ok…" he muttered. He studied her hard.

She leaped again. He dashed to the side, the swung around hitting her with his paws.

"Yes!" She yowled. She backed up and lunged again. He flattened himself to the ground as she flew over him. She turned and spun, cutting him with her paw. He backed up and sprang at her, paws connecting into her fur.

"That's it!" She yowled, "Now try to get me down."

She wriggled from his grasp. He flipped backward and grabbed her tail, pulling her to the ground. He leaped onto her and held her there.

Moonfeather wasn't saying anything. She was looking off.

He followed her gaze.

"Well, well, well…" Brightstar mewed. "It looks like someone's been disobeying my orders."

**Cliffie! Uh oh, Moonfeather and Faithpaw are in big trouble. Things are gunna start happening now. But I promise the story will be at LEAST twenty chapters. Please review!! Also, after this story is done I'm going to write a story about what would happen if Hollypaw went back in time, way back, to the great Clans, and then she had to live everyday of Clan life, from the great Clans to modern day, without aging at all. I'm working on it now.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it took me so long to update. I had a very freaky dream my mom said was 'symbolic' and I was having trouble writing. So I wrote the dream down and now I feel so much better. Also, could anybody else read my other story, the misc. books one? I forgot the title. It's my own original idea, and I really like it. So yeah.**

**Ok, I'm sure you don't want to here my blabber, so I present the next chapter in Unfaithful Savior!**

Chapter 9

Faithpaw whirled around and saw Brightstar sitting there, her eyes smoldering with fury. Behind sat Whitefoot, Brownclaw and Northwing. Their tails flipped on the sandy earth.

"She wasn't doing anything wrong!" Faithpaw defended his mentor instantly, "She was just helping me defend myself...you know, incase I'm in trouble."

Brightstar smiled at him, but it was an empty, cruel smile. "Faithpaw," She said in a soft, dangerous voice, "There is no way you could get in trouble. Nobody's going to attack you. Nothing's going to happen to you. You are safe."

Faithpaw stared into her eyes, shaking with fury. He was thinking of Silvertail. She would have raped my if Siftpaw didn't get there in time! I do need the training! He wanted to tell her, but he was afraid to.

"Come on, we're going back to camp," Brightstar hissed, "Both of you." She turned and headed into the underbrush. Faithpaw got to his paws and followed. He looked sideways at Moonfeather, but she refused to meet his gaze, staring ahead as the cats padded foreword.

They reached the camp in no time. Brightstar leaped onto the Highledge, calling a Clan meeting as she went. Faithpaw sat there, feeling dejected.

As soon as the Clan had assembled, Brightstar launched in. "I have just seen treachery and rule-breaking in this Clan. Let me explain. I had just come back from the gathering, and as soon as I arrived, and noticed that Faithpaw wasn't there. We searched and searched for him. Finally, I asked Earthpaw if she knew where he was. Earthpaw, come up here and tell the Clan what you know."

Faithpaw watched Earthpaw as she jumped onto Highledge with narrowed eyes. The annoying she-cat seemed to have turned against him since he refused her love.

Earthpaw faced the crowd of eager cats. "I was just resting in the den, but I saw Moonfeather come up to Faithpaw. I heard her whisper, 'Come on, Faithpaw, let's go do some more training.' and I thought that something was up."

Brightstar nodded to her. "I took a patrol of three warriors to the training hollow, only to be proved sadly correct. Moonfeather was with Faithpaw in the hollow, teaching him battle moves."

"But why can't he learn that?" Moonfeather called.

Brightstar bared her teeth and glared down at Moonfeather. "I think I made it very clear that Faithpaw's training would be the talks about she-cats _only_."

"But why can't he have both real training and talking?" Moonfeather asked.

"I think the talking is real training, Moonfeather," Brightstar said dangerously.

Moonfeather fell silent, staring down at the ground.

Faithpaw's heart was beating hard. Brightstar hadn't said why he couldn't learn both. He gasped. She didn't even have a reason!

Brightstar looked at the crowd now. "But the point is that both Faithpaw and Moonfeather disobeyed me and snuck around my back, hiding because they knew what they were doing was wrong. And disobeying can only result in one thing: punishment." She flicked her tail at Whitefoot and Brownclaw. "You know what to do," She said.

The three warriors moved foreword and surrounded Moonfeather. Together they pulled on her limbs and began dragging her from the camp.

"Faithpaw!" She cried, struggling to get away. But the strength of the three she-cats overpowered her. "Help me!"

But he couldn't move, because different cats were coming up to him too, and dragging him away, away from Moonfeather, back into the camp, over the nursery, and into the forest. He could only watch as Moonfeather was tugged from camp on the other side, and then slowly, she disappeared from view, covered by dark leaves swaying in the midnight wind.

Faithpaw was tugged along, farther and farther into the forest. Then the cats dragging him, Windfrost and Northwing, stopped in a large clearing covered in dry leaves. Together they started gathering medium-long sticks. Faithpaw started to inch away. Instantly, Windfrost leaped at him and slapped him to the ground. She jumped up again and continued gathering sticks. Then they gathered some vines and moving quickly and silently, they started to build a large, long cylinder with a pointy, round roof. The fastened it all together then held it open.

Northwing jumped on Faithpaw and clasped her teeth into his scruff. He tried to root his paws into the ground as she dragged him to the cylinder, but she was much stronger. She hauled him up and tossed him into the cylinder. Inside it was lined with moss and feathers, and it was roomy, but they closed the top and started tying a long vine through the bars of the cylinder. Then they threw the vine over two trees and hauled him up and up, jumping on the ropes to haul him up. They they tied the ropes and disappeared, leaving Faithpaw suspended several yards above the ground, floating in the middle of the clearing, inside his cylinder.

He stared. After Northwing and Windfrost disappeared, the entire forest was silent, apart from the sound of many crickets chirping.

Faithpaw began to move his body back and forth until the cylinder was swaying dangerously back and forth. He waited for it to settle. Then he began to pace inside his small cage, round and round and round. It was dark everywhere, and even though he looked up he could barely see the moon.

He was trapped, but perfectly safe. It was obvious the cats from MidnightClan didn't want him going anywhere, like running away, because they still wanted him to mate with. And of course, they didn't want him hurt, because then he was as good as not there. He lay down, numb to everything.

There was nothing he could do anymore. He was completely, utterly trapped, and if some she-cat crawled into the cylinder and asked to mate with him, there was nothing Faithpaw could do but comply.

They're smart, he thought, curling up and lying down on his soft nest. They're very smart.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Faithpaw was left in the suspended cylinder cage for four moons. He gained weight, and tried to exercise it off by pacing his cage over and over, but that did not work. He himself aged, his fur became coarser, his midnight brown eyes less bulbous, and his scruffy pelt became a little thicker. The kink in his tail also bent back a bit.

Nobody came near him. He would occasionally see MidnightClan cats patrolling by in the distance, but they would leave soon with no more then a glance in his direction.

And he was left, suspended, trapped, in the cage. Occasionally he'd think about Siftpaw and get sad, then angry, because she hadn't even come to check on him. But that soon sunk away. She did have a Clan and a life.

But more then occasionally did he think about Moonfeather. His mentor had been dragged away, taken from him to who knows where. It was likely that she was dead, killed by angry MidnightClan cats sure she had been trying to manipulate Faithpaw into being her mate.

Things were looking pretty dim. Faithpaw was bored, lonely and sluggish. He itched to stretch his muscles. One night, after having been in the cylinder for a full four and a half months, he lay down in his over soft nest of feathers and moss. He stared into the darkening forest and sighed.

Suddenly, the sound of paws on dry leaves roused him from his stupor. He got to his paws and looked out through the bars of his cylinder.

A silver-grey she cat was padding slowly and calmly into view, looking up at the cylinder curiously with bright blue eyes.

"What are you doing up there, Faithpaw?" Siftpaw mewed.

He looked down at her, then gasped. She looked different somehow. Older. Her fur was more glossy, the scars on her body more pronounced.

"They trapped me," was all he could choke out.

She stared at him, then padded foreword and started to chew on one of the vines holding the cylinder to the tree. It soon broke with a snap, and he began to sag in his cage.

"Are you getting me out?" He asked gleefully.

"Of course," She mewed, gnawing on the other vine, "I really couldn't leave you hanging like that."

She jerked her head and vine snapped apart. The cage plummeted to the ground, and it collapsed as soon as it hit. The world burst into color as Faithpaw hit the ground, and his head spun wildly.

"Sorry about that," Siftpaw mewed, "Anyway, come on, let's get out of here fast."

"Where are we going?"

"We're running away."

The world twisted for a second.

"Running away? To where?"

"Somewhere beyond AirClan territory," She mewed.

"Am I going to be alone?" He asked, following her as she started off into the forest.

"Of course not. I'll be with you."

Excitement pulsed through his whole body and his mouth twisted into a grin that he tried to hide. There was absolutely no reason he should be feeling happy. Running away would take him from all contact of other cats.

…except Siftpaw.

"Hurry," She added over her shoulder, "We don't have much time."

He picked up his pace as she headed on through the forest, turning toward AirClan territory. The trees began to thin out and soon they were in the windswept moors of AirClan.

"Is this your Clan's territory?" he asked her.

"Yes," She nodded as she trekked over the hills.

"Do you like it?"

She shrugged. "Not really," She said curtly, "Everyone except Swiftpaw, my sister, is snobby."

"Oh." Faithpaw looked at her as he followed her across the territory. He stared at one spot on the back of her head, where thin dark grey stripes ran down the silver. He stared at it and found he couldn't look away, because when he stared at it he felt a leap in his stomach, and he never wanted to move his eyes from that one spot.

A warm, happy feeling started in his paws and spread up his body. He stared hard at the spot on her neck. Then he knew. He liked Siftpaw. There was nothing anyone could do about it.

…_unfaithful…_

"This is the edge of AirClan territory," Siftpaw mewed as the hill straightened out and the forest started up again, but denser and wetter then before. "We're going to find a nice place to be in this forest."

She had jolted Faithpaw from his thoughts. He nodded clumsily, forcing his absent mind to kick in.

"Where are we going to spend-,"

Faithpaw was broken out, because, with a scream/snarl, a black thing leaped onto him. He was forced in to the ground as rock hard paws pummeled his body. Screeching in rage, he felt claws tear into his flesh. He let out a yell and rolled over, attempting to throw the attacker off him. As teeth crunched into his shoulder, he heaved up as hard as he could and flung the cat away. She skimmed onto the ground, got up, but did not continue the battle. She was grinning.

"Faithpaw!" She said happily, staring at him with glowing eyes.

He stared back, confused and a little afraid. Who was this unknown cat that recognized him so well?

Then he saw the distinctive silver patches amongst the black and he gasped.

"Moonfeather?"

She grinned harder. "What are you doing here?" She asked, then, "How many kits are you the father to? Wait-let me guess. Sixteen?"

"What?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Didn't they force you to mate?" She asked.

"They put me in a cage and ignored me, Moonfeather," He said. "but why are you here? I was more then sure they had killed you…what happened?"

"Let's just say they tried to kill me," Moonfeather said proudly, licking her silver and black tail. "But I'm not like that. I got away. Barely, but I got away. And I became a loner!" She grinned up at him, and he surveyed her sharply. She was a whole lot more muscular because he hadn't seen her for four and a half months. She had also lost some hair and wasn't as fluffy. She was scrawnier too.

"But tell me what you're doing!" Moonfeather glanced at Siftpaw. "Running away?"

"You guessed it," Faithpaw said.

Siftpaw broke in. "You must be Moonfeather. Faithpaw spoke well about you. I was wondering, do you know any good places where two cats could hide and sleep?"

"Um..." Moonfeather fell silent, her face serious as she thought. "Yes! I do. Come with me."

Hurriedly, the loner raced along through the forest, brushing through ferns and flicking leaves back at the two apprentices. Bugs buzzed in Faithpaw's ears. He shook his head, trying to get them to go away but they only zoomed back.

Soon the trees began to thin out. Moonfeather had stopped walking and was staring down at something.

Faithpaw hurried foreword and stopped instantly. For now he stood at the edge of a cliff, staring down into a deep chasm, a deep gorge.

"You don't know how much I wish I could jump across here," Moonfeather sighed. He looked sideways at her, then she straightened up.

"Ok, it's just this way a little longer. Come along."

She walked along the edge of the gorge, but then the ground beneath their feet began to slope downwards. Faithpaw gasped as he realized it was a well trodden path carved into the of the cliff, criss-crossing down slowly.

It was a perilous, frightening climb. Faithpaw looked down and saw the river at the bottom of the gorge foaming and and roaring over rocks. But it was still so far below.

Behind him, Siftpaw let out a tiny scream. He whirled around as she slid on the path and fell right off the edge of it.

**Siftpaw is in big, bad trouble. Read and find out more. Please review! Also, thanks to all who have reviewed, I know I should reply separately but it is hard to with so many reviews, so just know whoever who are rock and are in my thoughts. Lol :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**I just realized I forgot to explain how Faithpaw was eating up in the cylinder for four moons! OOPS! Just pretend the Clan came by once a week to give him a pile of prey. Sorry.**

Chapter 11

Faithpaw froze. His glazed eyes watched as Siftpaw spinning body fell, and fell and fell. He stayed there, staring. Unmoving. Not breathing.

"Faithpaw?" Moonfeather padded to his side. "Um...was she close to you?"

He didn't look at her face. He stared at the frothing blue river so far below. Then he nodded.

"Well come on then, she'll be on the path a little lower."

Instantly he was hopeful and began to pad after Moonfeather, glancing over the path edge as much as he could. There was no sign of anything, and that infuriated him. He strained his eyes to see. And he couldn't.

Slowly, piercingly slowly, they descended the cliff wall. Down...down...down. Each step seemed to bring him no closer until Moonfeather stopped ahead of him. HE looked past her and saw the path went right into the river, and water lapped at it thirstily.

"Are you sure you didn't see where she landed?" Moonfeather asked him.

"Yes!" He snapped. He turned quickly, leaving Moonfeather behind. Then he hurried up the path, up and up and up, turn by turn, sure he had missed something. She had to be here somewhere, slumped in a bush...stuck on a branch...Up and up and up...

And there was a little bush on the wall in front of him. Siftpaw was sitting on it, smiling. He looked into her silver face and she blinked calmly. Then he moved foreword. He didn't care what anybody said...he was going to spend this moment with her...

He blinked.

She was gone.

It had all been a daydream. He gave an inward growl and hurried on up, his paws shaking. He became more panicky with every step.

"Siftpaw!"

Faithpaw finally forced himself to call out. There was no answer, not a sound. Even the birds were silent, and the sun sunk silently, darkening the gorge.

"Siftpaw!"

He stopped, staring over the edge of the path. This was where she had fallen. Maybe she was in that bush a little below the path...? Faithpaw leaned over. The bush was empty.

"Siftpaw!"

There wasn't a trace of anything, no blood, no body, no scored up earth of plants. She had just vanished.

But no...she couldn't have...

He hurried back down the path, bumping into Moonfeather on the way. He flicked past her and moved on down, down until he met the place where the path ended. He rushed and stopped when his paws became submerged in water.

He looked into the river. The rocks on the floor of it were shiny and fine. Nothing.

He searched longer. There was nothing.

Faithpaw looked up. The world spun for a moment as he saw how high the top of the gorge was.

Then he turned around and hurried back up the winding path. Moonfeather was sitting in the middle of it, and she turned to face him as he appeared.

"I'll look tonight," She said, "But now you need to get somewhere safe, somewhere hidden. And I said I knew where. MidnightClan's going to be coming in a second, I'm sure."

She turned and stared away, not waiting for him to follow. Unwillingly he forced his paws to move and began hurrying down the twisty path after the silver and black she-cat.

Moonfeather didn't glance at him. She stood at the end of the path, her paws in the water. He looked up at her. "So we're stuck," he hissed.

"We'll have to wade a bit, and it gets deep, that's all," She said. She started into the water, Faithpaw after her. They moved deeper into the water until it was tugging at Faithpaw's belly fur. "Moonfeather?" He called warily, "I'm not sure this is safe."

"It's alright." She glanced back to him. "See that little moss island up there? We've got to jump onto that." He watched her grow still in the water ahead of him, then she jumped from it and landed clumsily on the tiny moss island, gripping it with her claws. It was probably only a foot in diameter.

"Can you jump now?" She called.

"I think." He stared, then stopped. "But you have to get off if it for me to get on."

"That's true." Moonfeather turned around and jumped. She disappeared into the darkness.

"Moonfeather?" He called, "Where'd you go?"

"I'm in here! Just jump to the moss ball!"

Faithpaw tried to brace his muscles through the water. Then, keeping his dark brown eyes fixed on the squelchy moss island, he sprang foreword with a mighty splash. His claws hooked into the moss ball and he hauled his body onto the island. He turned around until he was positioned on it, then stared into the darkness where Moonfeather had vanished.

But darkness? That didn't make sense. He was standing pretty near the cliff wall, he should just see the solid rock of it. But instead he saw a large strip of darkness going from the top of the cliff wall all the way down to the bottom, where he was. It was almost like there was a crack in the wall, and he was looking into it.

He jumped off the moss ball. The water was not as deep here, so he sloshed foreword, into the crack.

It was a crack! A big crack in the side of the cliff wall that a cat could easily fit through. He began walking along, splashing through a few inches of water.

But then the crack ended. Or, most of it ended, because at the very bottom it went on- a tunnel. A cave.

Carefully, Faithpaw ventured into it. The water was still beneath him, but the whole dark room was empty and bugs flew into his face. Dripping water could be heard from ahead, echoing off the stone walls of the cave.

"Moonfeather?" he called.

There was no answer, so he continued on. The dripping sound got louder. He turned a corner and saw light-light glistening on water.

He quickened his step, then froze.

Faithpaw had emerged from the tight tunnel into a huge cavern. His eyes widened and his mouth fell down as he saw that the water in the tunnel ran into a big pool of water in the center of the floor of the cave, but for two yards all around it, there was solid, damp ground. He stared up. There was a hole, a small round hole about a foot in diameter going all the way from the ground far above him, to here. Light poured from it.

But all around him, there was water- dripping water. It ran from the walls and splattered onto the ground or into the pool. The whole room was alive with the sound of water.

"Where are we, Moonfeather?" He asked, awed. His voice echoed around the huge cave.

There was no answer. He turned around, looking for her, squinting through the shaft of sunlight coming from the top of the cave. He saw eyes ahead and moved foreword, around the pool.

Moonfeather stood beside a large cat. Behind the large cat were two others.

The large cat stepped into view.

"Greetings," he said, "You must be Faithpaw. My name is Akando. I'm leader of The Ambush."

**OMG! Anyone notice I wrote "'he' said?" Review, review, review!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here are the allegiances for The Ambush! Also, this chapter is a bit more...intense then the others. **

**The Ambush**

**Leader:** Akando- huge dark grey tom

**Others**: Senason- smoky black she-cat

Feti- light grey she-cat

Dono- dark grey tom, Feti's brother

Hettolore- medium grey tom

Mopantor- dark grey tom

Sylicora- pale grey she-cat, Akando's daughter

Fawna- dull back she-cat

Nystro- dark grey tom

Fiya- pale black she-cat

Conano- inky black she-cat

Tellanot- medium black tom

Chapter 12

Faithpaw stared at Akando. He stared and stared and stared. Slowly he took in the other tom, the other _tom. _It was another tom. He wasn't the only one anymore...

"Come withe me." Akando turned and began heading into the entrance to a tunnel. As darkness shrouded the cats, Faithpaw looked over at Moonfeather. She looked proud, but she wasn't looking at him. She too turned and moved after Akando into the darkness.

Faithpaw got to his feet and followed them. It became dark once more in the caves, but as they went deeper light could be seen from ahead.

"There are holes in the roof, like you saw in the big cavern," Akando mewed stiffly, not looking back at him. Faithpaw stared at the dark grey pelt as he passed through a shaft of light, unblinking.

They came out into another cavern. this one was much smaller and lacked the pool of water in the center. There were a lot more cats in here, and they all stared harshly at Faithpaw as he passed, not looking welcoming in the least.

Akando climbed onto a big rock on the far side of the cave. "Attention, everyone from The Ambush. And all newcomers, you are to give me your eyes."

Faithpaw glanced at Moonfeather who was sitting beside him in the dark cavern. She did not meet his eyes, staring hard at Akando.

"As you can see, we have a new cat in our midst," Akando said. His voice boomed around the cave. Faithpaw glared at those that stared at him, trying to look as tough as he could.

"He comes from where Moonfeather does- the cat Clans from above us." Akando paused. "We will welcome him lovingly into The Ambush." He paused, waiting for a response, but there was none.

"Sylicora, it is your duty to care for him," Faithpaw watched as the Ambush's leader stared intently into the eyes of one cat, then twitched his eyebrows slightly.

"I shall lead him to his quarters." Akando leaped from the rock and commanded Moonfeather and Faithpaw to come. Numbly, Faithpaw started after him. They went into the tunnels, where small chambers broke off. Akando led them both into one chamber. he stepped into the light coming from the hole on the roof.

"This is Moonfeather's chamber," Akando mewed, "Faithpaw, until I find an empty one, you shall share it with her. You are not to leave this chamber unless with Sylicora, who will take care of you." He backed from the chamber and walked away, down the hall.

"Where are we?" Faithpaw demanded Moonfeather instantly, "What is this place?"

"It's the temporary home of The Ambush," Moonfeather mewed.

"Temporary?"

"They're nomadic. They said they only stay in one place for six moons. So they came after the disease had gone, and that's why there are toms."

"But why are we here- why are you here?"

"I found them after I ran away. They-they are nice, once you get to know them. I've been with them for a moon now." She looked away, as if hiding something.

"What is it?" Faithpaw pressed, "You have more."

"I-I'm going to have Akando's kits."

"WHAT?" He sprang backward, slamming into the wall of the den. "Why? You've only been here for a moon!"

"We mated on the second day." Her voice was tiny, "He was so nice to me-but ever since we mated he hasn't spent time with me anymore."

At that moment, someone padded into the cave. Faithpaw looked up, and his heart melted. Standing in the entrance was the most beautiful she-cat he had ever seen. Her pelt was a solid light gray and her eyes were glowing sapphire blue. She smiled enchantingly at him.

"You must be Faithpaw," She said softly, "I'm Sylicora. We've found you a cave. Come with me, please." She smiled, looking right into his eyes. He couldn't even dream of not obeying, and followed after her, dizzy at her beauty.

She moved her tail and pushed it around his. Even though he should have pulled his tail away, he didn't want to, and slowly he would it around hers. His head swam.

"Here is your cavern," Sylicora mewed, stopping by the entrance to a cave. He padded it, unwilling disentangling his tail from hers. "Would you like me to stay here for a while while you settle in?"

He wanted nothing more in the world at that moment. "Yes! Of course...feel free!" He stumbled in and watched her with round, moony eyes.

"Why don't you sit down?" She asked nicely, "I'll clean up the floor a bit."

Faithpaw slowly sat down, watching her with his mouth hanging open. She stopped soon and padded over to him, sitting down so their pelts mingled together. "I hope you like it here, Faithpaw. We really are glad to have you." He turned his face and stared at her. She was sitting very close.

Sylicora leaned over and gave him a gently lick on the muzzle. He felt woozy. "You have the nicest eyes..." She mewed, edging closer. He didn't pull away. He was mesmerized by her...

She flopped down, rump in the air. She brushed his face with her tail tip, and he laughed. She edged closer, sticking her rump farther and farther into the air, closer and closer...

Faithpaw jumped back a little. Her rump was so close to his body. She paused, then got to her feet. "I'll be back soon. Settle in, Faithpaw." She smiled warmly and padded out of the cave.

He sat there, staring after the place where she had vanished. He wasn't feeling so good anymore. He tried to bring the moony feeling that he had so enjoyed back, but it wouldn't come. He sniffed the air. Yes, she was in heat. That was why she had tried to get her rump so close to him, that was why she was flicking his face with her tail. A shiver passed down his body. He felt incredibly gross. Trying to keep from barfing, he stood up and started to pace.

Sylicora came back a moment later, smiling ever so brightly. She padded in and sat down a little ways from him. Faithpaw looked curiously at her face. When he didn't think about her being in heat, she wasn't pretty at all. Now he understood. The only reason he had been so mesmerized by her earlier was because she was in heat. That was all.

"I brought you some fish," She mewed. He sniffed in the delightful scents of the prey and smiled.

She padded over to him and set it down. She sat down beside him, mushing herself into his flank. She looked into his eyes and smiled. He took a bite, trying to edge away subtly. But she was there, pressing herself more and more into his body...then she moved in front of him, flopped down and stuck her rump in the air. She backed up, moving closer and closer to him, tail waving high in the air. She maneuvered her rump between his front legs...pushing herself farther and farther underneath him...

He jumped away as far as he could and whirled to look at her. "Stop it!" He shouted.

Sylicora stared into his eyes, then smiled widely. "You are really a cute one, Faithpaw." She turned and began backing up again, tail in the air, but this time she was moving quickly, very quickly, and she shoved herself right underneath him. He slashed his claws through her back and flipped away from her.

"I said stop it!" He snarled, growling as loud as he could. She paused for a second, glancing around. Then she turned and padded out of the den with a smile. "Don't worry Faithpaw, I'll be back."

He was left alone, panting and afraid. It looked like he had someone to avoid.

**Just to clear things up, Faithpaw didn't mate with her. He got away just in time. Ok, that really was a creepy chapter. I hate Sylicora, don't you? And I hate Akando. Moonfeather's pregnant! EEEEEEEEEEEEE! PLEASE REVIEW AND I'M SORRY IF I SCARRED ANYONE FOR LIFE!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Faithpaw lay with his head against the floor of the cave, his eyes open as he stared at the walls. Sylicora hadn't come back since she had tried to mate with him and he decided to lie down, in hopes of getting some sleep.

He stared sadly at the rock walls. He was thinking. Thinking of Moonfeather, of Sylicora and of Siftpaw. Moonfeather was pregnant. She had mated with Akando on the second day of knowing him. Why didn't she just hold off and not let him mate with her? He hadn't thought Moonfeather was interested in having a mate or kits. He hated Sylicora, but he was wondering why Akando had assigned her to be his 'helper'. She was obviously is heat, didn't Akando except him to have trouble not mating with her? It was almost like he wanted them to mate. At the thought, Faithpaw bared his teeth a little.

And Siftpaw. He closed his eyes painfully as he pictured her silver and grey pelt, the blue eyes. He let out a little whimper. Where was she? Where had she fallen? Why had she disappeared without a trace? He tightened his eyes. _Where are you, Siftpaw? _He thought painfully.

He opened his eyes and stood up. Silently he padded from the cave and down the hall. Faithpaw peered into Moonfeather's cavern. She slept on her side, eyes closed and breathing hard. Her belly was already getting large, even though she had only been pregnant for a moon.

Faithpaw continued down the hall. He was stopped at the end though, by two cats guarding the way into the big chamber.

"Where are you going?" One growled at him.

Faithpaw glared into his eyes. "Out," He snapped.

"Where's Sylicora?" The other asked, a she-cat with dark grey fur.

Faithpaw frowned. "Do I look like I know?"

"Did you mate with her?" The first asked.

The world spun for a moment. Faithpaw tried to gather his thoughts through the sudden rush of shock. He stared at the tom, unblinking, frowning, furious. So they knew she was in heat. "No." He growled finally.

"Then you have to go back to your cavern," The she-cat growled, "Go on. Go."

Faithpaw glared into her amber eyes. "You can't keep me in here."

"We can do whatever we want," The tom snarled, "And we follow our own rules. Go back to your cavern."

"Why am I here?" Faithpaw asked him as he backed up, back into the tunnel. "What do you want with me?" he yowled the last bit, then turned and rain back to his cave. He collapsed into a heap of brown and white fur, then stared at the wall. His mind was whirling, working furiously. Why did they ask if he had mated with Sylicora? Why did they keep him in the cave because he hadn't? And if he had, what would they do then? He tried to piece it all together. He had gotten Sylicora assigned as his 'helper' and she was a she-cat in heat. The other cats seemed to want him to mate with her. He thought about Moonfeather. Pregnant since the second day, with Akando...

Faithpaw shot to his feet. He bolted from the cave, racing down the hall until he reached the cave Moonfeather was in. He skidded into it and prodded Moonfeather hard in the ribs.

She woke with a start. "Huh?" "Did you get assigned a 'helper' when you first got here?" Faithpaw asked her urgently.

She blinked, then nodded. "Yeah..."

"Who was it?"

"Akando."

Faithpaw stared into her eyes without seeing them, blinking shocked. "And you did mate on the second day?"

"Well, I arrived here really late at night, and we mated in the really early morning, before dawn. He stayed with me all night." A dreamy smile crossed her face. "He was really nice. That was such a fun night..."

Faithpaw's breath began to get faster. He stared unblinkingly at Moonfeather. "They want us. They want our mating powers." He turned and stumbled out of the den. His mind was whirling with shock. For some reason, the cats from The Ambush were having trouble mating with each other.

As he lay down again on his nest in his own cave, Sylicora padded in. She smiled hugely at him. Faithpaw stared hard at her, thinking, calculating...

"Oh, Faithpaw," She said, "You're still here. So little. So cute." She smiled, then padded up and sat down beside him. He jumped away, observing her as much as he could.

Suddenly, moving like lightening, She whirled around and forced herself under him. She started to move back and forth, but Faithpaw had already leapt up. He jumped foreword and ripped his claws through her pelt, then chucked her aside, leaving her in a heap.

"Never touch me again," he snarled, "Because if you do, I'll kill you, ok? I'll kill you!"

She didn't look at him, just stood up and left the den.

Faithpaw got to his feet and walked out of his cavern. He stopped, ears pricked, as a call sounded from the main cave. It sounded like a summoning call, so he padded down the tunnel. This time he wasn't stopped by guard cats. He walked into the big cavern with the water in the middle. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Moonfeather padding up. She sat down beside him with a murmured greeting.

Akando sat on the rock he had sat on when Faithpaw first arrived. He waited until silence fell, then he said, "Bring her up here."

Faithpaw watched as two cats escorted a pale brown and white tabby up to the rock. He sniffed the air, she smelled like a loner.

"What is your name?" Akando asked the tabby.

Her eyes were round with fear. "Bird," she rasped.

"Bird, we welcome you to The Ambush," Akando yowled. He looked into the crowd. "Dono, you will be her helper." He twitched his eyebrows, like he had with Sylicora, Faithpaw's helper. Dono, a dark grey tom, stood up and dipped his head.

Faithpaw watched, eyes narrowed, as the cats broke up. Bird, who was looking fearful, was being approached by Dono. He smiled and they walked down the hall together. Soon, their tails twitched and slowly wound together.

Heart pounding, Faithpaw sprinted down the dark tunnel, passing underneath shafts of pale white light. He found the entrance to the cave Bird had been led into, and he hid outside of it, sinking into shadow.

Dono was talking to her while they sat with their fur mingling. Faithpaw sniffed the air. Bird was in heat. His heart quickened.

Dono was moving behind Bird, and he began to lick her ears. She purred and titled her head back.

Suddenly, Dono leapt forward, on top of Bird. He started to thrust back and forth with his hips.

Faithpaw froze, watching them mate. Then slowly, he crept away from the entrance and raced to Moonfeather's cavern.

"Were you in heat when you first arrived?" He demanded.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Faithpaw, why do you keep asking me all these questions? What is it you are trying to figure out? Why can't you just drop it, mate with Sylicora and be happy here?"

Faithpaw stared at her, slightly hurt. "Were you in heat?" He asked softer.

"Yes," she sighed, "Now what is it you want to know?"

"I think we're here as mating machines," he meowed.

**Not a very good chapter, I know. :P Aw well. I felt sick as I wrote it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, I got corrected on Moonfeather's pregnancy. Sorry about that! She's been pregnant for a moon and has one more moon to go, so she's half way there. So pretend she's been pregnant for a while, and looks pretty big.**

Chapter 14

"What?" Moonfeather scrambled to her feet, her eyes on him. Now she was listening, now she was intent.

Faithpaw flicked his tail. "I've been piecing it together. For some reason, The Ambush can't reproduce with each other, and they're using outsiders to mate with. He paused. "They're not letting me out because I haven't mated with Sylicora yet, and they probably wouldn't let you out either, until your kit are born. And the new cat, Bird, or something, well, she got a male as a helper and I just caught them mating. I'm going to go to Akando and force answers from him. Then I'm going to get out of here!"

He sprang to his paws and started quickly off, down the main hall. The two guards stopped him as he approached.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going where I want," He snarled back.

"Have you mated with Sylicora?" Asked the she-cat.

"Get out of my way." Faithpaw pushed into her, but they formed a wall and blocked him.

"Don't make me do this," He hissed. They didn't move. He bunched his muscles and sprang at them, slicing his claws across their skin. Obviously they had no fighting training, and as he attacked them, they collapsed easily to the ground. He hopped over them and out into the main cavern.

The pool of water was rippling silver from the light that came from the ground far above. Faithpaw sniffed out Akando, finding him in a little cave attached to the big one.

He stood up as Faithpaw approached. "What are you doing here?" He growled.

"Never question me." Faithpaw crouched down and leaped onto the grey leader pushing him into the corners of the cavern. He whipped out his claws and put them at Akando's neck. He hated doing this, being this pushy, but he had to get the answers.

"What are you doing with us?" Faithpaw hissed into his face, making his voice soft and deadly.

Akando's eyes glittered, full of fear. "Need...mates," He croaked.

Faithpaw tightened his grip. "Explain."

"We...we have a disease here that everyone has. It spreads through mating and birth. Two infected cats can't mate with each other, it doesn't work. We...we were dying out, so we decided to bring cats in from out there...and mate with them..." He broke into wheezes. "Please...not so tight..." He grabbed Faithpaw's paw, which was wrapped around his neck.

Faithpaw jumped off him and blocked the entrance. "Tell me more! Would you let me free if I mated with Sylicora?"

"Of course not!" Akando laughed sharply, meanly. "You'd have the disease, and we don't want the disease to get out there, because then if we are to get more cats, they'd all my infested, and we couldn't mate. We kill you after you do the work."

"So you and Moonfeather both have the disease?" Faithpaw questioned.

Akando nodded. "I got it at birth, because of course my mother was infected from the father, who was infected. And I gave it to Moonfeather. And her kits will be infested, too. I hope she gives birth fast, so we can take the kits and get rid of her."

Faithpaw glared at him. "You didn't nee to say that in front of me. I'm guessing the disease works slow. What age is it that it starts like...killing you?"

"You may not know you have it, until you reach two years," Akando said weakly. "I am a year and a half...soon I will begin to fail." He hung his head and was silent.

"So the disease you have is spread through mating, and kits born to an infected one are infected. Does it get spread any other way? Like, touching, or rubbing?"

Akando shook his head. "Just mating and kit birth. Have you mated with Sylicora?"

Faithpaw shook his head viciously, wanting to show his hate for the she-cat. "NO!" "Well, then you are not infected. Now, would you like to see some infected cats that are affected by the disease? Cat's that are two years or older?"

"I...I would," Faithpaw said. Akando stood up and started walking down a tunnel. As they moved, Faithpaw was thinking. The disease in The Ambush was obviously not the same one the Clans had faced, because this one worked slower and affected both toms and she-cats.

Akando stopped in front of a cave, but the entrance was blocked by a huge boulder.

"Cats don't go in here," Akando whispered, "Because the bodies can sense cats...and it tries to infect them." His eyes glittered solemnly. Two guards stood by the boulder, and as Akando nodded at them, they rolled the boulder aside.

A terrible stench hit Faithpaw hard in the nostrils, and he chocked at the awful odor. Akando just wiggled his nose, but made no other reaction. He padded into the cave. Light trickled in from one hole on the roof. Akando padded straight across to the other side of the cavern, Faithpaw at his heels. Akando moved a boulder aside. Behind them were several nests, and on those nests...

Were cats.

But they didn't look like cats. Faithpaw's heart rate quickened as he saw them. Every body was drained of blood, and all the fur had fallen off. One cat lay on his back, his belly huge and bloated, his skin white and clear. Horrible goo was running off him, dribbling onto the floor.

"See that goo?" Akando whispered. "Slowly, it will seek you out. One touch of that and you are infected. I can touch it, because I'm already infected, but you might want to avoid it, if you value your life." His face broke into a cruel grin.

Faithpaw looked back at the bodies. He could see greenish, shriveled organs through the massive belly of one. The face of another was terrible, eyes sunken into pools of goo, sightless and grotesgue...mouths with clear, sticky goo flowing from between the teeth...sunken noses...Another one was lying on its back, and the belly had been eaten away, leaving the ribs and a large concave area filled with goo.

"They get eaten alive by their own bodies until they die," Akando whispered. He cackled madly. "In half a year, I shall be lying here with my body bloodless, hairless, goo flowing from me..." His cackles grew louder, and then he fell silent.

And Faithpaw heard. He heard the whispers, the sounds...the bodies weren't dead. They were still alive. They were whispering, whispering horrible things he couldn't understand, but they were alive. He bent over and looked into the eyes of one, and the sunken, drowning eyeballs turned up at him...then a paw flashed up, strings of goo hanging from it, and it reached at Faithpaw's face...he jumped back as far as he could with a yell, stumbling on the ground.

"Akando! Let's go! I've seen enough! I get this now...it's horrible!" He looked up at the dark grey tom, but he wasn't paying Faithpaw any attention now. He was cackling, throwing his head back in his horrible laughter...and then, to Faithpaw's horror. He slammed his paws into the bulging, misty white, gooey belly of one of the infected cats. He cackled louder as the goo flowed up through his toes, drowning his paws. His laughs grew until they were booming around the cavern. He stuck his face into the belly, laughing as the goo covered him. He began rolling around the bodies, laughing and grinning and getting covered in clear, stringy goo. Finally he pulled away. Faithpaw just stared at him, wide eyed, terrified.

"Let's go," He whispered, his throat constricting as he saw the dripping tom.

Akando's cackling started up again as he headed for the way out. Faithpaw followed him at a distance.

"Sorry Faithpaw," He cackled as he slipped through. Faithpaw ran foreword, eager to get out, but the boulder was sliding foreword, blocking him. He hurried foreword faster, heart pounding.

"We can't have you out here after you know these things! Make sure to avoid the goo!" He cackled louder, falling over onto his back and rolling around, crazy with humor.

The boulder slid into place, trapping Faithpaw inside. He threw himself foreword, at the boulder.

_"Let me out, you crazy, disgusting tom! LET ME OUT!"_

**That was a bit gory, so if you have trouble with gore, I'd suggest you start looking at fluffy bunnies to change all mental images you have. I actually thought that was super fun to write. And now Faithpaw's trapped with a bunch of living zombies who are dripping with goo that wants to seek him out and infest him! Everything is taking a turn for the worse, plus Moonfeather is pregnant and they're due in a moon!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi everyone! I'm sorry I took so long to update, and with that cliffhanger in the last chapter, too. I was taking a break, you know? I knew what was going to happen but when I sat down to write I just didn't want to. Now, if anyone's still reading, here's the loooooooong awaited next chapter!**

Chapter 15

Faithpaw was burning in rage and fear. He started to climb up on the cave walls to avoid the goo, but he knew it was only temporary refuge.

He'd screamed himself hoarse for the last hour, and was sure he'd heard the guards outside laughing wildly. It made him to mad he wanted to pop.

Boulders lined the edges of the cave walls, and he paced back on forth on these. Just like Akando had said, the goo had begun to seek him out, and the whole floor was covered in a couple inches of it. If he touched one drop of it, he'd be dead.

The sick cats, lying grotesquely at the back of the cave, were still muttering and whispering_. Nice company,_ Faithpaw thought, _a couple of chewed-up goo-fests whispering in another language. Pleasant._

The hours passed, Faithpaw slowly giving up hope. And then, just as the weird, goo stuff really started to get close to the boulder he perched on, the boulder was rolled aside.

Faithpaw shot to his paws as a black and silver she-cat shoved her way into the cave. She waded into the goo easily, not caring.

"Moonfeather?"

Her face was grim, determined. "I know it all. Akando's already told me. Come on, we've got to get out of here."

"Get out of the goo!" He hissed, suddenly realizing what danger she was in.

"I'm already infected," She said sadly, her eyes flickering. "Akando mated with me, remember?"

"Yeah," he whispered, "I guess."

"Can you jump to the boulder?" She asked.

"I think." He said. He bunched his muscles and pushed off hard, flying for a moment before hitting the boulder hard. He began to slide down, closer to the goo junk. His heart leapt in terror, but instantly Moonfeather pushed him back up, onto the rock.

"Let's get out of here, fast," She said. He leaped off the boulder, out into the hall, narrowly avoiding the sticky goo, which was creeping along the floor. He and Moonfeather raced down the stone hallway, out into the big cave with the water.

"Stop."

They both looked up. A bunch of cats form the Ambush were blocking the way out of the main tunnel.

"You cannot leave," One of the cats said, "You have to give birth and he has to mate."

"Listen," Moonfeather hissed, sticking her face into the cat's, "We know your stupid rules, your stupid ways. We aren't falling for them. Got it?"

The cat made no answer. He just pulled away. "You can't leave," He spluttered.

"Looks like a fight," Moonfeather said to Faithpaw, grimly.

"Alright…" He whispered. Together, as if on an unheard command, they leapt hard. Faithpaw remembered the fighting skills Moonfeather had taught him, determined to use them.

He ripped open the skin of the first cat he attacked, and instantly it collapsed to the ground with a scream. He attacked another, and it turned and tried to flee as he ripped his claws through its back. The other he killed mercilessly.

"This is so easy!" Moonfeather cried as she chucked a tom over her shoulder easily.

"They must not have been trained in fighting," Faithpaw said as he flung a few aside, making a pathway out of the cave. Together, they sprinted down it, jumping into the water and swimming to the edge of the path that led, criss-crossing, up the mountain. Then they stopped.

"Too easy," Faithpaw said, flopping down, panting. "That was too easy."

"Agreed," She said, licking a paw casually. Then she let out a groan. "Kits are kicking."

She was heavily pregnant. They had to get her somewhere safe, because her kits were coming soon. But where? Surely not back to the Clans, where they both were hated and unwanted.

Faithpaw slowly got to his feet. "Why don't we go farther up the path a bit, you rest up, and I get some prey?"

"Sure," She said, relief etched into her voice. "That sounds like StarClan on a stick."

Faithpaw led the way, climbing up the winding path. He had already chased all thoughts of Siftpaw from his mind, forgotten about her, everything. She was dead. She was gone. He didn't care anymore. She couldn't come back.

He would never believe that.

Faithpaw shook his head sharply. He found a good spot at the top of the path for Moonfeather to lie down on, a comfy clearing between a small ring of trees. She sighed loudly, resting her head on her paws.

"I'll get some prey," He decided.

She nodded distractedly. "Yeah…"

"Moonfeather?" he said, suddenly wanting to voice something he had been thinking of for a while. "I wanted to say…I…I…I want to thank you…you know…for everything. Like training me…and just…helping me." He smiled awkwardly, embarrassed about the situation.

She looked up a sad small smile on her face. Her eyes were glittering. He couldn't believe Moonfeather might be crying. It just wasn't possible.

"Uh…" She looked down at her paws, then back into his face, as if seeing him for the last time. "Yeah. Um…I'm glad I could you know…know you. And not as a mate. And for that…thank you."

He stared at her strangely, she was acting a little weird.

"I can't believe I have that horrible disease," She said, looking away, eyes glossing up again. She swallowed, pressing her lips together. "And my kits. They'll have it too. They're kits will. They're mates will. It'll just spread. I wish…I wish there was an herb to cure it."

"Maybe there is," He said hopelessly, "Maybe we can fix it."

"Yeah…" She agreed. "There're a lot of diseases, don't you think? The male-killing one, this one…I remember the male-killing one. It was scary. All of a sudden, everyone just started to die. I had a mate once. He died, of course. I think I even had kits once too. They were males though. Neither survived."

"Oh." Faithpaw was at a loss for words. Moonfeather had had a mate. She'd lived a normal life like a normal cat. Before he came along. Who was she then?

"Now that I think of it, I've lived a good life," She said, then smiled. "Nice knowing you, Faithpaw. Really nice." She closed her eyes for a moment, still smiling, then opened them again. "Why don't you go get some prey?" She looked at him hard.

"Sure." He turned and rushed off.

As soon as he was hidden in the trees, he glanced back at her. It almost sounded like she was going to leave…maybe run away? It couldn't be. No, she wouldn't. Moonfeather liked him. Trusted him. She was a loyal friend.

He quickly cuahgt a couple of mice, then hurried back to the spot where he'd left her. She was curled up neatly

Faithpaw hurried foreword, dropping the mice by her nose. She didn't move.

"Moonfeather?" He whispered, crouching down to her level.

He recognized the little, bright red berries resting beside her.

"Moonfeather?" Fear pattered his heart.

She was smiling. Her eyes were closed.

Faithpaw looked at the closed lids. "I understand," he whispered. And he did.

Moonfeather was gone. She'd killed herself, not wanting to plague any more cats with the deadly disease she was holding.

Faithpaw searched his heart, realizing he wasn't that grief-stricken. For some reason, he had known she was going to do it, going to kill herself. And yet…she was gone, dead. The only friend he had left, now ticked off his list like Siftpaw had been. Both gone. Both dead. All alone.

All alone.

"Oh, Moonfeather!" he wailed, breaking into anguished tears. He collapsed down, resting his muzzle on her back. And all of a sudden he felt like a tiny kit, nestling beside his mother, wailing for milk.

But this was different. This was more…real, somehow.

"Stop your grieving, Faithpaw. There isn't time. Get up, now. I need your help."

Faithpaw jumped up, fur on end, as Siftpaw stepped out of the trees, her blue eyes dark and serious.

**Cliffhanger! (Sort of) I'm really, really, really, really sorry it waited so long before updating. I kind of liked this chapter, even though it was kind of rushed. Anyway, bye-bye Moonfeather, hello Siftpaw! Predictions, anyone? Thanks to all who've reviewed! It really warms my heart, as I have mentioned many times before.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, guys, before you all yell at me, I have a very reasonable reason for not updating. I had like, five or so chapters typed up, and then I lost every single one of them. Ugh! It's very frustrating, because I was almost done with this story. I should have updated earlier, I guess. –bashes head against wall-**

**Anyway, here is the chapter. Thanks if you waited, sorry I didn't update. I need to double save. XPPP**

Chapter 16

Faithpaw's eyes felt like he could never stop blinking. Siftpaw just stared at him seriously, while he just gazed at her silver and gray fur.

A bird called out in the distance, begging for nightfall. The tall fronds of grass and fern swayed gently in the wind, and a cold air brushed past the two apprentice's fur.

"Siftpaw?" Faithpaw finally managed, his voice cracking. He had stared at her so long he had lost his ability to create sound with his vocal cords.

"Yes, now snap to it! I need your help."

"What…do you need?" He croaked.

Siftpaw flicked her tail, glancing at the sunset-orange sky above her. "The Clans are having some trouble. MidnightClan is…uh…tearing themselves apart."

"Why?" Faithpaw asked. _Let them die,_ he added in his head.

"When they found that you had escaped that cage I rescued you from, they went distraught. Brightstar said everything at the Gathering last night. She talked about you and Moonfeather having been caught training, and that you were put in that cage. Moonfeather was exiled, as you already know. The MidnightClan cats had planned to leave you up there until the Clan apprentices went into heat. Then they'd let you out, and force mate them with you."

Faithpaw stared at her incredulously. "I thought that…well…that they respected me for being the only male. I never thought they'd try to make me force mate."

"Well, they did," Siftpaw hissed, "And now every Clan is sending out search parties for you. AirClan, my Clan, are preparing for war with MidnightClan. They say that when you get found, they should have you in their Clan, to mate with their apprentices, and not MidnightClan."

"Oh no," Faithpaw moaned. He slumped down exhausted. He didn't want to have to deal with this. He wanted to be away from all the fighting over him, and the pressing of him to mate.

"I thought you were dead," he managed finally.

"I slipped off the edge of the path, and I landed on the one below it. I skidded down, landing it a tree that was hanging to the side. I dropped into the river from there. Luckily, I'm a good swimmer. But by the time I got back ashore, you were already gone. I stayed for a while, searching for you, but when I didn't find you, I went back to the Clans."

Faithpaw gave a forced laugh. "You don't want to know about Akando."

"What's Akando?" She asked innocently.

"They're a nomadic group of dung-brains. They're infested with a disease that is passed through mating and birth. The disease comes in when you reach two years, eating you apart from the inside. Akando was all infested with the disease, and they needed other, untainted cats to mate with. So they took cats from out of their Clan, mated with them and then killed them."

"Yuck!" Siftpaw exclaimed. Then her eyes darkened. "Did they…mate with you?"

Faithpaw shook his head slowly. "They tried. But I didn't let them. Moonfeather…" he looked down at her still body, "She mated with one of them, though. She was pregnant. But she killed herself, to stop the disease from reaching the Clans." He sighed.

Siftpaw was silent for a little while. "So, there are toms in Akando, but they're infested with that disease?"

"Yes," Faithpaw replied, "Now, what do you need help with?"

"We've got to stop AirClan from attacking MidnightClan! Faithpaw, they're going to tear each other apart! They're going to die! All the Clans are going to die! Everyone's afraid. Everyone's terrified, because the species is ending. I hear my Clanmates sobbing themselves to sleep every night! Faithpaw, you are like their hope, their only hope! A light in the dark. WaterClan and FireClan are already battling for rights, when they steal you from AirClan after they steal you from MidnightClan! Brightstar's putting up a fight, saying that only her Clan deserves you, because you were born into it! Everyone is going to die! Faithpaw, you have to just go be there, mate with cats or not, but you need to just be there, or every single cat in the whole forest is going to fight themselves to _death!"_

Faithpaw blinked, taking a step away. "Okay," he said, nodding, "Alright. But you don't realize how stressful it is, to be in the Clans and just have everyone pressuring you to mate all the time."

"I know," she whispered, "I can't begin to imagine how awful it must be. But please, Faithpaw, please! For the sake of the forest. You're their hope. Their only hope."

He sighed, long and low. "Alright. I'll go be in the Clans. But I won't mate with anybody."

Siftpaw gave him a sympathetic smile, but as she opened her mouth to speak, they were interrupted by another voice.

"Hey!"

Faithpaw's head jerked up, and he saw a party of three she-cats heading toward them.

"Siftpaw! What're you doing out here?" Asked a white she-cat angrily. She glared down at Faithpaw, and he felt his heart drop.

"I found Siftpaw, Whitestripe," Siftpaw replied, bowing her head.

"Why didn't you tell us? You should have come to us immediately!" Whitestripe spit, "Don't you know the plan? If you find him, you tell us as soon as you do! We can't let MidnightClan get a hold of him first."

"Sorry," Siftpaw whispered, but Faithpaw could tell she didn't mean it.

"Silvertail, grab him," Whitestripe commanded. A second later, Faithpaw was flipped over onto his back, a paw on his throat.

Whitestripe shot him an angry look. "Sandpaw, get Siftpaw. She's a traitor now."

"What?" Siftpaw yowled, "No! Whitestripe, please! I was going to go to you soon, I was! Please don't make me a traitor! I'm still loyal! Please, Whitestripe!"

Faithpaw looked over into her eyes. Siftpaw was lying. "Is this your Clan?" He breathed, because he could no longer recognize the Clan's separate scents.

"Yes," She whispered, "Now, shh!"

Sandpaw, the cat holding Siftpaw down, sneered at Faithpaw. "You poor, little excuse for a cat," She hissed, "I get to be your first mate."

"Yeah right!" Faithpaw shouted. He reared up, wanting to scratch the stupid little she-cat over the eye, but the cat holding him, Silvertail, pushed him down.

"Come on, you two," Whitestripe told her Clanmates. Silvertail started to jerk Faithpaw along, Sandpaw doing the same with Siftpaw. Faithpaw tried to wriggle away, but a sharp jab in the stomach made him stop.

They went through the forest, then turned up toward the AirClan hills. Faithpaw sighed. He was a prisoner now, of AirClan. Just like he had been a prisoner of Akando. And a prisoner of MidnightClan. Was he just going to be a prisoner all his life?  
Whitestripe made the other two AirClan warrior's stop once they reached the top of a hill. She looked down into a little gully, lined with soft bushes and grass. AirClan's camp.

Then, Faithpaw and Siftpaw were dragged down, into the clearing. Silvertail gave him a sharp jab, then sat on his chest, keeping him down. Sandpaw did the same with Siftpaw, leering into her face.

Whitestripe padded over to a wiry brown she-cat with a long tail.

"Greetings, Longstar," She said in an undertone, "We have completed the mission. The tom has been found."

Faithpaw growled. He didn't want to be called 'the tom'. He had a name, didn't he?

"Oh good!" Longstar said. She glanced down at Faithpaw, her face expressionless.

"He was found with Siftpaw. She was talking to him, instead of taking him back to us. Therefore, she is a traitor, for we both now how delicate this plan is. There was also a dead body of a she-cat beside him, but I don't know who it was and what the cause of her death was."

"Okay," Longstar meowed, "You have done well, Whitestripe. Go get some prey now, but first make sure the den is prepared. For both of them. Add a separator."

Whitestripe nodded and padded off.

Longstar turned to Faithpaw, Siftpaw, Sandpaw and Silvertail. "You both have done well," she said to her Clanmates, "Take these two to the den."

Faithpaw was jerked again, as Silvertail began pulling him along, Siftpaw close behind. He tried to squirm away, but once again to no avail.

They reached the other side of camp. There was a small, dark den, deep in the wall of camp, Faithpaw saw a couple of long things that looked like bars. He groaned.

A second later, both he and Siftpaw had been forced into the den. He gave a yelp as his face slammed into the opposite wall.

Silvertail slammed a big rack of bars into the cage, separating both him and Siftpaw on each side, so they couldn't reach each other. Then she put another rack of bars in front, and walked away. They were trapped.

"Ugh," Siftpaw groaned, sticking her paw through a hole in the bars, but not getting very far with the rest of her body, "I can't believe this. I have no respect for my Clan anymore, but it does bother me that they labeled me as a traitor. I don't _want_ to be part of their stupid plans!"

"Yeah," Faithpaw sighed, flopping onto the muddy ground, "I know. Sorry, Siftpaw. I attract this kind of stuff to myself."

"It isn't your fault," She whispered, but something in her voice was off, like she _did_ believe he had done this to get Siftpaw in the cage.

They didn't speak for a while. Faithpaw just stared into the darkening AirClan camp. Passing she-cats stared at him. Some smiled their pleasure at knowing they'd be able to mate with him, while others leered at his captivity. He looked away and sighed.

"Siftpaw, I'm tired of fighting it all off," He whispered, "I'm tired of trying to not mate and to stay away from love. I think I'm just going to give into it and mate with anyone who wants to."

"No, Faithpaw!" She hissed, harsher then he would have guessed. He looked over at her, surprised. "You can't do that! You can't give up! We'll find a way out of here. I've already got half a plan. We might be able to be out of here by tomorrow." She smiled a tiny bit.

"Okay," Faithpaw replied, hating himself for not thinking up a plan of his own, "Alright."

"Good," She mewed, "Now, I'm going to need help from another cat."

"Who?" Faithpaw asked her openly.

Siftpaw smiled, looking ready and prepared.

"Clockpaw."

**Stupid, cliffhanger, I know…but Faithpaw hates Clockpaw, so, yeah…Okay, I think I got this chapter about right. I'll try to update sooner next time.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Faithpaw shuddered as he was dragged into the clearing. He rooted his feet against the ground and tried to hold himself there, but it was to no avail.

The two she-cats carrying him were strong and able, and before long he lay in the center of the circle of cats, the two she-cats still holding him down.

The AirClan leader, Longstar, leaped lightly off a ledge overhanging the camp. She landed on the ground and padded swiftly over.

"Cats of AirClan!" She caterwauled, voice piercing the air, "We have found the one tom left in all the Clans!" She glanced down at Faithpaw. "We have acquired him before MidnightClan! We now have possession over him! _We have had victory!"_

Faithpaw growled inwardly and flicked his ears. So he was a possession now, was he?

"Still, I have heard word that MidnightClan is going to attack us," Longstar went on, "Soon, they will find out we have the tom, and they will fight hard to take him from us! But, my cats, guess what? By the time they do that, Faithpaw will already have impregnated half out population!"

Faithpaw growled, loudly this time. Nobody paid him a shred of attention.

"Sandpaw shall be the first one to be mated with, for she is young and fresh," Longstar continued, "Then, in this order, Greenflower, Whitestripe, Silvertail and Paperfur. Alright?"

Nods of agreement went through the cats.

Somebody pushed Sandpaw closer to Faithpaw. He jumped back, doing his best to look disgusted. She sneered at him.

"Get on," She leered, wagging her rump in the air.

Faithpaw snarled at her.

Just like the plan had been laid down, Siftpaw rocketed out of the den, knocking the stick-made bars down as she went. She slashed her claws over a guard's eye and sprinted straight at Faithpaw.

"Let's go!" She hollered. Instantly, Faithpaw's legs kicked into action, and he bolted across the ground, right behind Siftpaw.

"NO!" Bellowed Longstar, "GET HIM! HE CANNOT ESCAPE!"

"Go, go, go!" Faithpaw urged Siftpaw as they charged out of camp and up the hills. A glance behind him proved that all of AirClan were following.

"Hurry!" Siftpaw urged. Her paws flew over the ground, moving as fast as hummingbird wings.

They dashed down a hill, neck in neck, AirClan closing in behind them.

"We've got to get out of there sight!" Siftpaw hissed. She glanced around for a moment, then said, "There! Dive under that ridge."

Faithpaw did what she said and they both crept along in darkness.

AirClan thundered over them and continued over the hills. Faithpaw and Siftpaw both sighed in relief. They hadn't been seen.

But suddenly, a little she-cat looked over her shoulder, right at the place where the two cats were hiding.

"RUN!" Siftpaw screamed, and they were off once more. Faithpaw followed the gray and silver she-cat as they scrambled through a long row of scraggly bushes, trying to keep hidden. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the cats exploring the ridge where they had been hiding carefully.

"Okay," Siftpaw said, "They can't see us. Follow me!"

She burst out of the bushes. Faithpaw sprinted after her, muscles screaming at the strength he was forcing them to use. AirClan still hadn't seen them, so they had another moment where they were safe.

"Here!" Siftpaw hissed. She grabbed his scruff and shoved him into the trunk of a huge, hollow oak tree. Faithpaw felt thick cobweb break as he fell in, and he coughed as foul dust particles tickled his throat.

"Yuck, Siftpaw, this tree is really-," He began, but Siftpaw cut him off, shoving her tail into his mouth.

"Be quiet. They still might find us."

Faithpaw peered out of the tree with her. The AirClan cats were prowling around, combing through their territory as they searched.

"Ugh," Siftpaw groaned, pulling deeper into the tree, "I don't know how long it'll be until they give up. We need to get to WaterClan territory, so I can hook up with Clockpaw, and we can't have AirClan prowling about."

Faithpaw growled. In their cage, back in the AirClan camp, Siftpaw had explained her plan, and so far, it had gone pretty much accordingly. He still didn't like the idea of acquiring help from Clockpaw, though.

"Siftpaw, I'm going to choke," he said, suddenly realizing how bad the air in this stuffy tree-trunk hollow was getting to him, he could almost see the gross little dust bits floating around. Bugs and parasites climbed up the inner walls, and worms crawled through the soil.

"Well, if we get out of here now, we'll be spotted, so just deal with the stench, okay?" She hissed.

They fell silent as a couple of cats walked by, stalking through the dry grass.

"What about the tree?" An apprentice asked. She pointed at the tree where Siftpaw and Faithpaw were hiding with her tail. They both pushed themselves into the darkness. "They could be hiding in there."

"Of course they aren't in there," The other cat responded, "They'd be completely dung-brained if they were."

Faithpaw felt Siftpaw stiffen beside him, and she grew very, very quiet.

"What's the matter?" He asked as the two cats moved on.

She just shook her head, worry rolling off her in waves. "Nothing. Come on, maybe you were right about this tree. Let's get out of here."

Together, they crept out and dashed across the grass without –hopefully- being seen. But as Faithpaw watched Siftpaw, he could tell there was something she wasn't telling him. Something major.

**Oops, short chapter, but it seemed like a good place to end it. Lolz. What do you think Siftpaw is not telling him? Oo –dances because I know- XD**

**See the button? SEE the button? Innit cute? Oooh, look, it says 'go' on it! Isn't that just so wonderful? It likes being clicked, so why not give it a try?**

**XD**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"What's wrong, Siftpaw?" Faithpaw asked gently as they padded through a willow grove, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing!" She replied, much too cheery, "Everything's fine." She gave a forced laugh.

Faithpaw sighed out, still noting her overly stiff back and rigid paws. "So, what help do you want from Clockpaw?"

"I've got a new plan," Siftpaw said, "And we need as many cats as we can get to see it through. I was thinking, instead of always running from the Clans and hiding you away, why don't we face them head on in a battle? If we win, it'll show that you have rights and they can't force you to mate. Then you'll be safe."

"Okay…" Faithpaw replied, "But there's a flaw to that, isn't there? We're more likely to loose, because we'll only have three cats on our side. You, Clockpaw, and I. Then we'll be back where we started."

"Well…" Siftpaw sighed, "Clockpaw's a really good fighter! I think, anyway…I'm sure we'll win! We have to!"

"Three cats can't beat four Clans," Faithpaw sighed, "Siftpaw; we're just going to die."

"No we won't! Don't believe that!" She hissed.

"You're being incredibly irrational!" Faithpaw spat, "It won't work!"

"Just believe it," she said seriously.

"No!" He snarled, "I won't! I want to have a plan that I know could work!"

"Well what do you think, then?" She spat, "What's your plan? What do _you_ think we should do? Sorry to break it to you, but I've been working really hard for you all this time! You haven't come up with a single plan of your own! You're relying on me to get you out of every niche, to help you escape! That isn't fair! I'm not an object!"

Faithpaw lowered his eyebrows and glared at her. "I thought you wanted to help me. If you hadn't, why didn't you speak up sooner?"

"Because you're a naïve brat. Without me holding your paw all the time, you would be the father to about a hundred kits! And I know you don't want that, and I care about you enough to stop that, but really, I'm getting tired of always having to protect you!"

Faithpaw just glowered at her and said nothing.

"And, I don't quite see why you're so intent on not mating with anybody!" She went on, "I understand you not wanting to be forced, but really, did you see how AirClan treated you? They didn't even call you by your name, just as 'the tom'! Why can't you just mate with one she-cat? Just one! One! And, don't you ever want to have kits? Don't you ever want to be a father, and have a family with offspring?"

"I don't want to be forced into mating," he hissed, "Don't you see how disgusting that is? And about the kit thing, sure I'd love to be a father someday, but when I'm ready, and I'd want my mate to be somebody I chose!"

"Fine that," Siftpaw spat, "We can keep on struggling and fighting to keep you from being a father, and then when _you're ready_, you can _choose_ a mate and be happy!"

"Alright then!" He snapped back and they continued on in silence.

Birds trilled in the evening darkness. The sky was still smeared with a pinkish glow from the sun that had set just minutes ago.

"Who would you choose?" Siftpaw asked suddenly, out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Faithpaw asked, startled, "I don't know! Why do you think I would?"

"Just wondering," she said carefully and padded on through the willow grove.

"Why did you want to know?" He asked quietly.

"No reason," she replied quickly.

_Why?_ He wondered to himself, _what made her want to know?_ He stared at her pelt, glimmering in star shine. _Did she want me to say I'd choose her? Does she like me?_ Would_ I choose her? _

Faithpaw was suddenly reminded of the time when they had escaped from MidnightClan, and Moonfeather was taking them somewhere safe, the day he had realized he liked Siftpaw. He remembered the sun on her pelt…the stars were glistening the same way on it right now, making the little tips of her fur sparkle.

Once again, he realized he couldn't look away from that shiny spot on her fur. His mind stared to wander. He wanted her beside him…he wanted to lick her face…he wanted her to touch him…he wanted to feel her beneath him…

He gave a gasp and jerked from it. It felt like waking up from a dream. What was going on with him? Why was he thinking those things?

He tried to keep it from his mind, even though he wanted to return to the strange thoughts and feelings he had felt. He wanted to think about getting closer and closer to her body…and yet he was afraid to. He wasn't ready for those kinds of thoughts.

And still the questioned swirled, unanswered, in his head:

_Would I choose her?_

--

Amidst the gloom, Faithpaw could see the WaterClan camp looming ahead. The territory here was soggy, gloomy and dark, with misty trees and pools of still water every few feet.

"How are we going to get Clockpaw without being seen?" Faithpaw asked Siftpaw as they crept stealthily through the trees.

"It won't be hard," she mewed, "None of the Clans are very alert right now, they're all too focused and battling the other Clans over you. We'll just sneak it in the back and get Clockpaw."

"Alright," he agreed as Siftpaw crept cautiously underneath a low-hanging pine branch.

"Wait here," she told him as they reached the brambles surrounding the WaterClan camp, "I'm going to go in. If I'm seen, the cats won't recognize me as much, because of my she-cat scent. I'll be right back."

"Okay," he hissed as she pushed her way through the brambles, ears back, short tail straight out behind her. A second later the thick tendrils swallowed her up and she was gone from view.

Faithpaw waited for her to come back out with Clockpaw. He peered through a crack in the brambles and saw the Clan milling around. Everyone looked depressed.

Glancing up at the night sky, Faithpaw realized that gray clouds had rolled across it, and everything was turning misty and cold. He groaned.

He wished Siftpaw had come back up. He had realized that all he really wanted to do was stare at her endlessly and never look away. Well, more than that, he wanted to run away with her…then they could have some real quality time. He chuckled.

The brambles rustled. Faithpaw back up so they could have room to come through. Siftpaw hauled herself up and stopped on the damp ground.

A brown and gray tabby head poked through the tendrils and soon Clockpaw pulled herself onto the ground and blinked at Faithpaw without saying anything.

"How are you?" He spit, once again unnerved by her strangeness.

"I'm good," Clockpaw replied. She looked over at Siftpaw. "Are you going to tell him?"

"Yeah," Siftpaw answered. She started to clear away some brambles. "Help me get these away, otherwise the plan won't work right." She tugged a tendril away and threw it into the trees.

"What are you going to tell me?" Faithpaw asked as he went to work beside Clockpaw. She clawed a bramble away without saying anything.

"Clockpaw isn't a she-cat," Siftpaw said as if it were as normal as discussing today's weather.

"She's a tom?" Faithpaw yelped, then quickly remembered to lower his voice, "How is that possible? I would have known!"

Clockpaw still said nothing, so Siftpaw continued.

"She isn't either gender," she meowed, "Well, she's both, whatever. She looks like she should be a she-cat…but she realized that she has both tom and she-cat 'parts'."

"That's disgusting," Faithpaw growled, backing away from Clockpaw, who worked on without looking at anybody, "I was right to not trust you," he added to the double-gendered she-cat.

"So you aren't the only tom in the Clans, Faithpaw," Siftpaw continued, "Clockpaw's one too. Or she's both."

"So should I think of you as a tom, or a she-cat?" He asked Clockpaw. She turned to him this time and replied.

"I think I'm more of a tom. I mean, I feel more like a tom. I just feel…like a tom! More rough, I guess. I don't know. Plus, I like she-cats."

"And you found out about this when?" Faithpaw asked Siftpaw.

"I knew as soon as I met her," she replied, "Clockpaw told me. She trusted me from the beginning. I just didn't know when it was right to tell you."

"Oh," Faithpaw said. He looked Clockpaw up and down once more. "Okay." He didn't really know what else to say. This was quite a shock really, but did it mean some of the pressure of all the she-cats wanting to be his mate was off him? "Does this mean I won't have to mate with all those thousands of she-cats?"

"Yes it does," Siftpaw said, "Because Clockpaw's in love with one of the she-cats in his Clan.

"Siftpaw, there's something that you need to know, though-," Clockpaw began, but Siftpaw cut him off.

"I've got a plan on how we're going to battle the Clans," she meowed briskly, "And I decided we'll need to get them fighting amongst each other, and then they won't all be fighting us. We'll need to lure the other Clans here, to WaterClan."

"Does that mean I have to go to the other three Clan's territories and lure them here?" Faithpaw groaned.

"Yes it does," Siftpaw hissed. She rolled her eyes at his groan. "Faithpaw, I'm trying to make it work!"

"Whatever," he growled.

"Siftpaw, this is really impor-," Clockpaw tried again, but once again Siftpaw stopped him.

"Shh! This is the only important thing right now. Faithpaw's going to lure the Clan's here, with our help, and then there's going to be a war. Faithpaw, I want you to run as fast as you can and then when you-,"

"SIFTPAW!"

She jerked her had up and glared at Clockpaw. "What do you want?"

"This is really important," he whispered, "I…I realized I can't reproduce."

"What?" Faithpaw gasped, and Siftpaw did the same.

"I can't," she whispered.

"But…you said that you had mated with Brownpaw!" Siftpaw yelped, lowering her voice when it got to high.

"I did," Clockpaw said, bowing his head, "But she said she wasn't pregnant. I decided it was just because she must not have been in heat, nothing more. So, when I was sure she was in heat, very, very sure, I mated with her again. And she still wasn't pregnant."

"Oh no," Siftpaw whispered sadly, "Oh no."

"Darn it!" Faithpaw shrieked, "I thought I could relax. Argh!"

"Sorry," Clockpaw rasped.

"It isn't your fault," Siftpaw said briskly, rasping her tongue over Clockpaw's ear, "It doesn't matter, either. I had suspected as much, anyway. So, back to the plan. Faithpaw-,"

"What are you three yowling about?" Chuckled a dark voice from nearby. Faithpaw spun around and his eyes widened.

"Clockpaw?" Hissed a she-cat, holding up an unsheathed paw, "What are you doing with the tom? Planning on mating with him? Don't you remember the plan? If he is found, you take him to us before you get pleasured by him. And who's this other she-cat?" She gave Siftpaw a nudge, and the silver and gray she-cat growled, "Or are you all getting into each others bodies together?"

Clockpaw narrowed his eyes. "Sandclaw, nothing's going wrong. I just stumbled across these two losers and I'm reporting them to you."

"Good," Sandclaw spat, "Blackfur, take them into the camp. We'll see what Inkstar's plan is."

Faithpaw groaned. Caught again! He looked over at Siftpaw. She had her teeth gritted and looked frustrated. He sighed.

Clockpaw looked back at them. "Think of a plan!" she mouthed. Siftpaw nodded ever so slightly.

Faithpaw felt teeth prick his neck and he was dragged along, over to the camp entrance. He didn't even bother struggling, he knew how strong these cats were.

As he was tugged down the slope into the camp, his head began to hurt. _Too much stress!_ He thought angrily. He needed a break, even though he wasn't going to get one.

The cats stopped tugging him once he was in the camp. Siftpaw, squished beneath a brawny black she-cat, was squirming helplessly.

"Inkstar!" Sandclaw shouted, dashing foreword across the muddy ground.

The pure black she-cat jumped off a boulder and landed with a small split in front of the party. She glared down at Faithpaw.

"You got him," she said softly, praising her warrior.

"Cats of WaterClan! Gather around!" The WaterClan leader bellowed.

Out from the dens and bushes she-cats began to emerge, flicking their tails when they saw Faithpaw. They gathered around in a rough sort of circle.

"We have gotten hold of the tom," Inkstar meowed, staring icily down at Faithpaw, "And he is in our possession. We can now mate with him and bring kits back to our Clan."

Siftpaw growled, still squirming. The big black she-cat slashed her, and she moaned.

"Come here, Bluepaw!" Inkstar caterwauled suddenly. Silence fell, and a small, blue/gray she-cat snuck out of the crowd gingerly, eyes flickering around nervously.

"You shall be the tom's first mate," Inkstar said softly to Bluepaw's face. The little she-cat nodded slowly, blue eyes staring hard into Faithpaw's.

"Do it!" The WaterClan leader barked suddenly. Faithpaw gasped as a paw was sent into his side, winding him. He was shoved foreword, and before he knew it, he had been shoved on top of Bluepaw. She squirmed a little.

Shocked at where he was, Faithpaw gave a vicious snarl and whipped around, trying to dash away. But the other cats pushed him back, holding him in place on top of the tiny gray apprentice.

"Mate with her now," Inkstar hissed, sounding deadly. She came foreword, claws out.

"Never," he rasped, gasping for breath from all his struggling.

"Why do you rebel so strongly?" The leader hissed, coming closer and closer to Faithpaw, green eyes narrowed and deadly, "What is it you're afraid of?"

She stuck her face right up to his, and he pulled back instinctively.

"What do you need?" She breathed.

Faithpaw moved. He slashed his paw across the leader's chest. She gasped as she blood welled up and looked, shocked, into his eyes. Faithpaw ignored her and shoved one of the she-cats holding him onto Bluepaw off. As another one tried to hold him down, he plunged his fangs into her throat. Bluepaw rocketed out from under him and lunged at him, claws out and fangs flashing. "I want your love!" She screeched.

"Never!" Faithpaw raged. He backed up, barreling his holders aside. Then he lunged straight at Bluepaw, sinking his fangs into her throat. He kicked upward, the little apprentice hanging limply from his jaws, and then back down again, Bluepaw flying from his mouth. She lay still, blood draining from her body.

"_I_ will choose who to mate with," he growled, still trying to get his breath, "And it will be when _I_ want."

"Faithpaw," Clockpaw said softly. He looked up at gray and brown tabby, and realized that the other cats weren't looking at him. He gasped at the crumple of gray and silver fur lying beneath Inkstar's claws.

"Let her go," Faithpaw snarled as Siftpaw struggled as hard as she could against the sturdy black leader, but to no avail.

"I can't," Inkstar sneered, "First we'll make a little deal."

"No!" Faithpaw spat.

Inkstar unsheathed her claws a little further, and they began to poke into Siftpaw's fur. The apprentice grew still, aware of the danger. "Yes," the leader hissed, "Either you mate with one of us, or I kill your little friend. She's just another she-cat, after all. We do have to many of them, do we not?" She chuckled darkly, staring into his eyes with cold fury in her green ones.

"Faithpaw," Clockpaw rasped beside him, "Faithpaw, please…" The tabby looked down at Siftpaw, holding still beneath Inkstar's long claws. He shook his head sadly.

Faithpaw stared unblinking into Siftpaw's eyes. She stared back, terror glimmering in her blue ones.

"You wouldn't," Faithpaw rasped to Inkstar.

"I would," she hissed and tightened her grip a little more.

"Please let her live," he tried, wanting to stay calm.

"I will," she meowed, "If you mate with one of my cats."

Faithpaw looked over at WaterClan, all watching him curiously.

He looked back at Siftpaw, weak beneath Inkstar's claws, eyes brimming with unshed tears.

His headache was really getting bad now, pounding around his skull. It had been joined by a wrenching stomachache, and now it seemed like he was getting body pains. Ugh, the affects of stress…

_A mate…_he thought, staring unseeingly down at Siftpaw, _it's my decision. I'll choose who I want to mate with, and when…I'll choose….I'll choose…_

Siftpaw didn't look away from him. Please, her eyes seemed to say desperately, please, please, please…

Faithpaw turned around, padding slowly away from the two she-cats.

"What do you choose?" Inkstar called after him.

Faithpaw froze. He slowly lifted a paw and held it level with his body, sheathing and unsheathing his claws. Then he turned around to lock eyes with the WaterClan leader.

"Kill her."

**OO!! Review! Yay, long chapter for ya! So, Clockpaw's a hermaphrodite? And Siftpaw…is she going to die or not? What do you think? And hah, you still don't know what Siftpaw wasn't telling him! XD –dances- **


	19. Chapter 19

**Well, I sort of abandoned this story and decided just to finish it to put my reader's minds at peace. Sorry everyone. School is a consuming place, what with friends, homework and boys. This is the second to last chapter. Much angst ahead, be warned.**

Chapter 19

Siftpaw looked up at Faithpaw with shock and terror glimmering in her eyes. Faithpaw stared back, trying to control his emotions. His headache had gotten worse and was nearly blinding him, his stomach was rolling in pain, his muscles ached like heck, and it felt like he was being raked apart by a thousand invisible claws.

"Really?" Inkstar hissed to him, narrowing her eyes, "Are you sure you can't spare a little time to pump up a she-cat? (AN: Heh heh…heh…XD) What's a few kits, anyway? But, if you insist."

"Please!" Siftpaw screamed, "Faithpaw, please! Please, Faithpaw!"

"Sorry," he said softly.

Inkstar raised her paw as Siftpaw writhed and screamed. She unsheathed her claws and paused, letting the moment stretch long. Then she carefully lowered her paw to Siftpaw's next and pressed one single claw to her throat.

"Please," Siftpaw rasped, blue eyes desperately searching Faithpaw's brown ones.

"Sorry," he said again, watching her struggle expressionlessly.

There was a fast jerk of movement and a scream. Inkstar had pierced the one claw into Siftpaw's throat and wrenched it back out again. The black leader leaped back and all the cats watched her bleed to death.

Blood gushing out of the puncture on her neck, Siftpaw struggled to Faithpaw, ignoring Clockpaw who was shaking in tears nearby.

"Ow…" she rasped, touching her neck. Her pads got stained in the blood that poured from the small hole and splashed on the ground below.

"Please help me…" She gasped, grabbing onto Faithpaw with her claws, "Stop the blood…" She reached over and snatched a large leaf off the ground and pressed it to her neck. In an instant it slid off and she was left on the ground.

And Faithpaw stared at her. Jaw clenched, heart pounding, body wringing in pain, he watched as she died, as bit after bit left her body. She didn't say anything, but she kept trying to scramble closer and closer to him, but she kept falling back, and that was probably the worst part of all.

And then it was finally over. Faithpaw stared at her without looking away, his eyes reflecting a world lost.

"Let me go," Faithpaw said to Inkstar, but as he did the world flashed and then froze black and white before becoming normal again, and his two front legs collapsed below him. He stumbled back up. "You said I wouldn't have to mate if you killed her."

His own voice seemed to reverberate in his head and flash after flash of Siftpaw dying spun through his vision. Siftpaw dying. Siftpaw dying. Siftpaw dying.

Inkstar looked confused. She furrowed her brow, eyes flicking between Siftpaw's dead body and Faithpaw, standing there waiting.

A small stream of gibberish, scrambled words and flashing images started in the back of his head. He shook his head to make it go away, but it only strengthened.

"Now Faithpaw!" Clockpaw shouted, jumping on Inkstar's moment of confusion, "Run and lure the other Clans here! I'll stay here to fight them off if they try to follow you!"

"Right!" Faithpaw gasped. He spun around and tripped his way out of camp. Instantly, WaterClan moved foreword, but Clockpaw spun and charged at the nearest offender.

"Run!" Clockpaw yelled to Faithpaw as she battled hard, "Run!"

And Faithpaw did. He pushed his aching, weak legs on as he stumbled through the mossy forest. He could barely move fast, he was so dizzy. Several times he fell and had to catch his painful breath before crashing on. He couldn't even cross the tiny stream dividing MidnightClan from WaterClan, and instead took a fallen tree.

Inside his birth Clan's territory, Faithpaw found himself lost. He couldn't remember any landmarks. The forest looked completely unfamiliar.

"Help," He rasped, feeling his belly churn on itself as if it was filled with acid.

But he knew there was no help for him, even in his ill state. Any cats he found, anybody, would simply force him to mate with them. He was completely alone.

Even Siftpaw was gone. He had killed her.

He tried to keep going, he really did. His legs shook with pain and they kept faltering beneath him, but he kept plowing on, intent on luring the MidnightClan to WaterClan so they could fight each other, and finally they'd fight each other out, and then he'd have peace. Finally. Peace.

But somehow he knew that he would never have peace.

And then he tripped over a rock and crashed to the mossy ground. He didn't move. He didn't even want to. He couldn't. He lay there, looking up at the tall pine trees encased in night.

"Faithpaw!"

Painfully, he raised his head to see who had called him and saw it was Clockpaw, standing tall, looking down at him. He could see a bunch of furious WaterClan she-cat's plowing after her.

"Clockpaw?" He rasped.

Clockpaw looked down at him, his eyes full of a sad knowledge. She knew.

"Faithpaw, go north," He said softly, "You will find a soft little grove where you can lie down. And then rest, Faithpaw. Finally rest."

A tear fell out of her eye and hit the ground. "Go now, Faithpaw." Clockpaw's expression was a twisted mat of grief, pain and fear. "Go."

Faithpaw tried to stand up and couldn't. Gently, Clockpaw hopped off the rock and hauled Faithpaw to his wobbly legs. She gave him a lick on the cheek and then he turned to leap back up the rock and face the oncoming WaterClan she-cats.

"Goodbye, Faithpaw," Clockpaw rasped.

Faithpaw turned and started to stumble foreword, not wanting to see Clockpaw fight her own Clan. His legs almost failed to hold him, and it seemed like every moment he had to push himself up with his weak legs and it hurt so, so bad. And the stream of gibberish was filling him mind, his whole life playing backward through his head at double speed.

He fell and rolled down a small crest. He stopped there and couldn't get up. He saw a soft, calm willow grove lining a small stream just a few yards away.

I can do this, he thought. He tried to get up. Couldn't. He couldn't get his leg underneath him. It wouldn't move.

He started to haul himself across the ground as his back legs failed. His front legs ached at the pressure and he had to stop. He kept his spinning, blackening vision fixed on a small enclave between the roots of a huge oak, lined with gentle leaves.

Her pulled himself harder, legs shaking. He reached the enclave and collapsed. He tried, harder then ever, to move the hind legs he couldn't even feel anymore into a curling position so he could rest forever in the soft area StarClan had prepared for him.

Boom.

And that was when he began to feel his heart. Never before had he been so aware of it. Each beat was a sacred, rattling boom that filled his dying body with a feeling of energy and fear.

Boom.

Feebly, he moved his legs up to his belly and then couldn't move.

Boom.

He tried to blink.

Boom.

His eyes weren't working.

Boom.

He couldn't move anything.

Boom.

He only stared right up at the moon shining down on him and illuminating his white and brown fur.

Boom.

Brighter then anything.

Boom.

Filling his body.

Boom.

Filling his soul.

Boom.

And then Siftpaw.

Boom.

He saw her in the moon.

Boom.

Beautiful Siftpaw.

Boom.

And he thought to himself, a last, dying thought,

Boom.

If you could be here next to me, right now, right here…

Boom.

Would you?

Boom.

Nothing.

Silence.

He sailed right into the moon.


	20. Chapter 20

**Here is the last chapter. Narrated by Clockpaw.**

Chapter 20

Faithpaw died that night.

I didn't even know him that well, but it was still really sad. I ran down the grove a couple days after he had died and found his body there. The Clans found out soon after. Panic struck.

I'm an old cat now, and I can tell I'm going to die soon. I'm still not even sure if I'm a she-cat or a tom.

I'm in the WaterClan camp right now. I haven't seen kits since I was one myself. There's only three other cats in my whole Clan. AirClan and FireClan have nobody, no cats at all. MidnightClan has three.

We've died out. Cats still go and wail on Faithpaw's forlorn grave. I can't believe this is the world I had to grow up in.

But it's nothing compared to the world Faithpaw lived his short, horrible life in. He never got to relax. Sometimes I wonder if his death was a good thing. Maybe it was a good thing that he stumbled into the sickness-riddled tree in AirClan that one fatal day.

Was he a prince, or was he a slave?

Maybe he's happy now. Maybe he's up there with Siftpaw. Maybe, now that they're dead, they can have the future together they always wanted, but were denied.

My goal is to be the last one standing. I want to watch everyone die out before I fall, watch them die one by one like stars disappearing at dawn.

The End

**Angst, much? Yeah, Faithpaw never saved the Clans. Neither did Clockpaw, or Siftpaw, or anyone. They all died out and so did Faithpaw. Wow, what a depressing fic. Please review, Gdogs. **

**Oh, and this also may be the last fic I publish in the Warriors section here on Fanfiction, but you never know.**


End file.
